By: Shaine Pe
MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division has issued an arrest warrant against Senator Jinggoy Estrada in connection with a non-bailable plunder case and related graft charges.Also ordered arrested were former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan and former DPWH National Capital Region officials, including Assistant District Engineer Denryl Caesar Cortuna and District Engineers Manny Bulusan and Arturo Gonzales Jr.
The plunder charge is classified as a non-bailable offense and carries the penalty of life imprisonment upon conviction. Under Philippine law, bail may only be granted in such cases if the court determines that the evidence of guilt is not strong. The arrest warrant follows a separate warrant issued on Friday by the Sandiganbayan Second Division against Estrada and Bonoan in relation to a bailable graft case.
According to court records, Senator Estrada’s legal counsel, Noel Ostrea, filed an urgent motion seeking to withdraw the issuance of arrest warrants before both the Second and Fifth Divisions.However, Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Geraldine Faith Econg, who chairs the Second Division, stated that the division had already issued the arrest warrant prior to the filing of the motion, resulting in the warrant’s release. Meanwhile, the Fifth Division’s Clerk of Court reported that Estrada’s motion was received before the court completed its determination on whether sufficient grounds existed for the issuance of an arrest warrant. The charges stem from allegations filed by the
Office of the Ombudsman, which accused Estrada of receiving up to ₱573 million in alleged kickbacks through the purported manipulation of flood control project allocations for 2025. The Ombudsman formally filed the cases before the Sandiganbayan last week.
