New Delhi, June 2 -- A Philippine senator was arrested Monday on a charge of plunder after he allegedly pocketed a huge kickback in a flood-control project. It is the latest crisis to hit the country's Senate, the upper chamber where a battle for control of the country's political future is playing out.

The special Sandiganbayan anti-graft court had initially issued a warrant for Sen. Jinggoy Estrada's arrest Friday on a graft charge. He surrendered but was soon released on bail.

The new charge for which he was arrested Monday carries no right to bail.

Estrada, 63, has strongly denied allegations mainly by a former government public works engineer, that he received more than 570 million pesos ($9.3 million) in kickbacks from flood cont...