[6] In 2014, he was charged and detained for allegedly embezzling ₱183 million from his discretionary funds in a scandal known as the pork barrel scam.

[9] Outside politics, Estrada is also an actor like his father appearing in numerous films in action star roles.

He finished his primary and secondary education at the Ateneo de Manila University and earned a degree in A.B.

He took up Bachelor of Laws for four years at the Lyceum of the Philippines University while serving as Vice Mayor of the then Municipality of San Juan at the age of 25.

[citation needed] In 1992, he became the youngest ever elected-local chief executive during the 1992 Philippine local elections at age 29.

During his three consecutive terms as mayor, he spearheaded the construction of modernized barangay halls with daycare centers and various recreational areas such as gymnasiums, basketball courts and playgrounds.

[10] During his final tenure as mayor, he was sworn into office as the national president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) from 1998 to 2001.

His father, former president Joseph Estrada, was the main accused in that plunder case and was subsequently convicted but was immediately pardoned by then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

"[23][24] Estrada clarified that he was only frustrated "that while we are only too eager and willing to celebrate South Korea's entertainment industry, we have sadly allowed our own to deteriorate because of the lack of support from the movie going public.

Estrada was accused of another plunder charge at the Ombudsman relating to Janet Lim-Napoles' pork barrel scam involving ₱10 billion in public funds.

[33][34] On June 23, 2014, Estrada was arrested and detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

[36] On February 22, 2019, Estrada filed a request for a demurrer before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division, asking the court to deviate from established procedure and to allow him to challenge the sufficiency of evidence midway into the trial.

He said that he had been distributing relief goods to residents of the city when policemen in two patrol cars arrived at the scene and invited him to the local precinct.

According to him, as he passed through the immigration desk in Hong Kong, officers threw back his passport at him after checking it.

[41] According to Apple Daily, the Hong Kong immigration department recorded that Estrada visited Hong Kong with a diplomat passport and that from an alleged video surveillance record, he and three other Filipinos were accompanied by staff from the Philippine embassy and had arranged to go through the privileged passage for diplomats.

The immigration officer handed back the passport to the Philippines embassy staff, not to Estrada.