Jinggoy Estrada faces second arrest warrant for non-bailable plunder
The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division issued the warrant of arrest against Estrada for plunder Monday, days after he posted bail for graft.
Earlier in the day, Estrada said his camp asked the court to consolidate the cases pending before the Second and Fifth Divisions, defer the issuance of warrants of arrest, quash the information, and remand the cases for reinvestigation and/or completion of the preliminary investigation.
The cases stemmed from alleged budget insertions and kickback schemes involving P573-million flood control projects.
Estrada’s co-accused—former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan and three former DPWH National Capital Region officials—were likewise ordered arrested:
- District Engineer Manny Bulusan,
- District Engineer Arturo Gonzalez, Jr., and
- Assistant District Engineer Denryl Caesar Cortuna.
The four are also expected to appear before the Sandiganbayan 5th Division for processing.
Estrada earlier filed an urgent motion to withdraw the issuance of warrants of arrest as well as a motion to quash all the criminal information against him before the Sandiganbayan Fifth and Second Divisions.
This is the third time that Estrada has faced plunder raps.
Estrada was a co-accused in the jueteng plunder case involving his father, former President Joseph Estrada, but was acquitted in 2007.
He was also acquitted in 2024 by the anti-graft court of plunder charges over the alleged misuse of P183 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations. The anti-graft court reversed his direct and indirect bribery conviction in the same year.
He is still facing a separate graft case related to the PDAF
Atty. Noel Ostrea, counsel for Estrada, filed the urgent motion to withdraw the issuance of warrant of arrest against Estrada before the Sandiganbayan Second and Fifth Division last Friday, May 29.
“We filed motion to quash alongside other omnibus motions so we can present our arguments justifying the dismissal of cases against Senator Jinggoy before the Sandiganbayan,” he added.
