The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Non-bailable plunder and graft charges were filed on Thursday before the Sandiganbayan against Jinggoy Estrada and former Public Works secretary Manuel Bonoan in connection with the alleged multibillion-peso flood control scandal.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said the cases stemmed from “illicit” payouts amounting to ₱573 million allegedly tied to infrastructure projects.
Also charged were three engineers from the Department of Public Works and Highways-National Capital Region.
“Our evaluation shows that substantial public funds were deliberately funnelled into designated infrastructure projects in exchange for predetermined commission fees or kickbacks,” Clavano said during a press briefing.
He said the filing of charges followed an extensive probe conducted by the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation.
According to Clavano, the Office of the Ombudsman recommended that no bail be granted to the respondents and would also pursue a hold departure order against them.
Originally included in the complaint were former DPWH Undersecretary Cathy Cabral, former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, former NCR Regional Director Gerard Opulencia and former Bulacan First District Engineer Henry Alcantara.
Cabral, however, was removed from the case following her death, while Bernardo, Opulencia and Alcantara were excluded after applying to become state witnesses.
In a separate statement, Estrada questioned the speed by which the plunder and graft complaints were elevated to the Sandiganbayan, claiming the process violated his right to due process.
“We will exhaust all legal remedies,” Estrada said.
The senator argued that the Ombudsman filed the cases only days after the DOJ released its resolution, allegedly without conducting an independent and thorough review despite earlier assurances of a separate evaluation.
Estrada also said his camp would challenge what he described as procedural irregularities, including the alleged failure of investigators to properly consider evidence favorable to him.
Among these, he cited a letter from the Senate Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office stating there was no record that he inserted projects into the 2025 national budget.
He maintained that the document directly contradicted the accusations against him but was supposedly ignored during the investigation.
Estrada further claimed he was not given sufficient opportunity to review the resolutions issued by the DOJ and Ombudsman before the filing of charges.
“Ang ganitong labis at hindi makatuwirang proseso ay may seryosong implikasyon sa aking right to due process,” he said.