Manila: Indicted Sen. Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada appeared for his arraignment on graft charges before the Sandiganbayan on Tuesday. The anti-graft court, however, rescheduled the hearing to June 4 after counsel for Estrada's co-accused, former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel Bonoan, requested a postponement due to his client's hypertension.
According to Philippines News Agency, Estrada and Bonoan, along with former DPWH National Capital Region district engineer Arturo Gonzalez Jr., assistant district engineer Denryl Caesar Cortuna, and former DPWH district engineer Manuel Bulusan, were charged with graft for allegedly receiving kickbacks from flood control project allocations in 2025.
Estrada surrendered to the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group on Monday after the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division also issued an arrest warrant against him for a similar non-bailable plunder case. He is now detained at the Quezon City Jail. Sandiganbayan Fifth Division chairperson Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses signed the non-bailable plunder charges addressed to the San Juan City Police Station, Philippine National Police, and National Bureau of Investigation.
Last Friday, the anti-graft court's Second Division issued an arrest warrant against the lawmaker in the graft case. Estrada, a member of the Senate majority, denied the allegations.
