According to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, the cases against Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva related to the flood control controversy are already ripe for filing.
The plunder and malversation cases against Sen. Jinggoy Estrada over
his alleged involvement in the multibillion-peso flood control scandal
are “already ripe” and will be filed before the Sandiganbayan this
Thursday, May 28, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said.
The cases
against Estrada stemmed from the recommendation of the Department of
Justice, which conducted a preliminary investigation triggered by the
criminal complaint lodged by the National Bureau of Investigation-DOJ
Public Works and Bid-Rigging Task Force.
“We want the case to be
airtight so that when we file it, we would no longer have to grasp for
(pieces of evidence),” Remulla said at a press briefing on Tuesday, May
26.
He said they may ask the anti-graft court for a continuous
trial so that the prosecution can rest their case “in less than a year.”
In
its resolution, the DOJ recommended the filing of plunder charges under
Republic Act No. 7080, as well as graft charges under Sections 3(b) and
3(e) of RA 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
It
also recommended charges for direct bribery and receiving gifts by
public officers under Article 210 of the Revised Penal Code, and
corruption of public officials under Article 212 against complicit
private individuals and entities.
Prosecutors alleged that Estrada
and several former public works officials as well as private
contractors manipulated budget allocations and public bidding to divert
public funds.
Upon receiving the recommendation, the Office of the Ombudsman conducted an independent review of the resolution.
Sought for comment, Estrada downplayed the impending charges against him, saying he would continue working at the Senate.
“If this is the price that I have to pay for standing on my principles, what I believe in…so be it,” he said.
Estrada
refused to comment further, but stressed the Senate’s Legislative
Budget Research and Monitoring Office (LBRMO) testimony before the
Office of the Ombudsman that no official records show Estrada
introducing amendments to the 2025 Department of Public Works and
Highways (DPWH) budget.
“What (former DPWH district engineer)
Brice Hernandez said at the House (of Representatives) that I had
insertions, it so happened that here in the LBRMO, they have no such
record,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Remulla said another case that is
almost ready for filing is the plunder case against Sen. Joel
Villanueva, also related to the flood control controversy, saying this
may be filed in two weeks.
“That is also ripe for filing but we
need to refine the presentation of information and accompanying (pieces
of evidence),” he said. — With Neil Jayson Servallos