Ombudsman files third plunder case vs Estrada

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Well, a once light-hearted moment during [music] Senate hearings on the flood control scandal has taken a dramatic turn with Senator Jinggoy [music] Estrada now facing plunder and graft charges over alleged kickbacks tied to controversial infrastructure projects.

[00:00:14]Mobile journalist Arlene Dela Santos has this report. [music] >> Eight months ago, during the height of hearings on the flood control scandal, Senator Jinggoy Estrada personally asked contractor Carmelo Discaya if there was a senator in the supposed list of kickback recipients.

[00:00:38]>> Um Mr. Your honor, wala po.

[00:00:42]>> It fetched this unforgettable line from then Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman Rodolfo Biazon.

[00:00:51]Of course, Estrada resented the joke and asked that it be stricken off the hearing records. Fast forward to Thursday, May 28th. Estrada is at the center of a plunder and graft complaint related to the flood control scandal filed by the office of the Ombudsman before the Sandiganbayan.

[00:01:09]Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano personally appeared before the anti-graft court to file the cases.

[00:01:15]Also named respondents were ex-public works secretary Manuel Bonoan and local engineering officials from the NCR.

[00:01:23]Ex-DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral was dropped from the case by the reason of her passing. While former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, DPWH NCR Regional Director Gerardo Oppus, and Bulacan First District Engineer Henry Alcantar have also been excluded from the case. That's following their official admission into the witness protection program or WPP.

[00:01:49]Estrada was dragged into the controversy after former DPWH Engineer Bryce Hernandez accused him of receiving kickbacks from flood control projects, which the senator denied. The allegations claim that the respondents conspired to maneuver allocations, rig public bidding processes, and siphon government funds off major national infrastructure budgets.

[00:02:12]Clavano said the investigation yielded information that 573 million pesos in kickbacks was systematically delivered to Estrada alone.

[00:02:22]>> Our case is built on solid, immovable evidence. These state witnesses have provided comprehensive, cross-corroborated sworn statements that map out the execution of the scheme from its inception down to the logistics of the illicit payouts.

[00:02:39]>> Estrada, Honasan, and their co-accused are facing detention if the court orders their arrest. Plunder is an unbailable offense, thus state prosecutors have recommended no temporary freedom for Estrada and Honasan. To preserve the integrity of the proceedings, the Ombudsman has asked the Sandiganbayan to issue a hold departure order. Recall that as early as February this year, Estrada and Honasan were already barred from leaving the country. The Justice Department has secured a precautionary hold departure order against them.

[00:03:12]Estrada and Honasan have yet to respond to the complaints. But in Tuesday's session, the senator was asked about the looming case against him.

[00:03:21]>> Well, if this is the price that I have to pay for standing on my own conviction and for what I believe in my first duty is to the Filipino >> Clavano, however, said this is not enough for the senator to claim innocence."

[00:03:55]>> The office acknowledges that the LBRMO, Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office, has issued a certificate regarding the absence of documented initiation of budget insertions by the respondent. However, this certificate does not capture all stages of the budgetary process wherein insertions may be made in a layered method.

[00:04:20]>> This is the third time Estrada has been slapped with a plunder charge. He first faced the criminal offense in 2001 when he and his father, former President Joseph Estrada, were accused of conspiring to acquire hidden wealth amounting to 4 billion pesos from weteng operations, kickbacks from tobacco excise taxes, and stock manipulation.

[00:04:41]The elder Estrada was found guilty while Jinggoy was acquitted for lack of evidence. And then in 2014, Senator Estrada was charged with plunder and graft over pork barrel scam. He was acquitted though of plunder in 2024, but his graft cases are still pending. Aside from Estrada, Ombudsman Bong Revilla has also announced that charges will soon be filed against Senator Joel Villanueva also over the flood control scandal. The Ombudsman is also currently investigating former Senate President Chiz Escudero. Senator Rodolfo Biazon, meanwhile, has been slapped with his own plunder and indirect bribery complaints for allegedly receiving 75 million pesos in cash gifts during the campaign season.

[00:05:29]>> The Ombudsman is determined to pursue all cases still pending.

[00:05:35]We have one shot to get these cases right. The Filipino people need to see justice.

[00:05:41]This office is here to make sure we deliver just that.

[00:05:46]>> Kapatid Arnel Delos Santos, we are one >> de los Santos, we are One News.