The Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday formally filed plunder and graft cases before the Sandiganbayan against Senator Jinggoy Estrada and several former Department of Public Works and Highways officials over alleged anomalies involving flood control projects.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano personally filed the charges before the Sandiganbayan’s judicial records division.
Also named respondents in the cases were former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, former assistant district engineer Denryl Caesar Cortuna, and former district engineers Manny Bulusan and Arturo Gonzales Jr.
In a press conference following the filing, Clavano said the Ombudsman found probable cause to indict the respondents for plunder under Republic Act No. 7080 and violations of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The anti-graft body alleged that a total of ₱573 million in kickbacks was “systematically delivered” to Estrada through what investigators described as an “intricate mechanism involving illegal budgetary insertions and project allocations” within the DPWH infrastructure portfolio for fiscal year 2025.
The Ombudsman also recommended that no bail be granted in the plunder case.
“If the honorable court finds probable cause, we anticipate the subsequent issuance of warrants of arrest against the principal respondents,” Clavano said.
Under Philippine law, plunder is a non-bailable offense punishable by life imprisonment unless the court determines that the evidence of guilt is not strong.
The charges were filed weeks after the Department of Justice recommended the filing of plunder, graft, and bribery complaints against Estrada and former DPWH officials in connection with alleged irregularities in government flood control projects.
During a House infrastructure committee hearing in September last year, former DPWH assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez alleged that Estrada maneuvered the allocation of ₱355 million in budget insertions for projects in Bulacan’s first district in exchange for a supposed 30% commission.
Estrada earlier denied the allegations and shrugged off the filing of the complaints.
