MANILA — The Office of the Ombudsman has filed one count of plunder and two counts of graft against Senator Jose "Jinggoy" Ejercito Estrada before the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court, alleging that the incumbent senator received kickbacks totaling more than P573 million from government flood control projects, in what officials described as a systematic scheme embedded within the Department of Public Works and Highways' infrastructure spending portfolio for Fiscal Year 2025.
The charges were formally filed at the Sandiganbayan on Thursday, May 28, 2026, by Assistant Ombudsman Jose Dominic "Mico" Clavano IV. The filing makes Estrada the highest-ranking incumbent government official to be charged in connection with the multibillion-peso flood control scandal that has shadowed infrastructure spending under the Marcos administration.
It is the third time in 25 years that plunder or related charges have been brought against the senator, who is the son of ousted former President Joseph Estrada.
Ombudsman Cites 'Intricate Mechanism' of Illegal Budget Insertions
According to the Ombudsman, investigators uncovered what was described as an "intricate mechanism" of illegal budgetary insertions and project allocations within the DPWH infrastructure portfolio. Case records, the office said, point to an accumulated sum of illicit payouts exceeding P573 million that were "systematically delivered" to Estrada as the principal respondent.
The charges were filed under Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, in addition to the plunder count. Plunder is a non-bailable offense under Philippine law and requires that the amount involved reach at least P50 million — a threshold the present case far exceeds.
The Ombudsman has recommended no bail for the respondents and has signaled its intention to seek Hold Departure Orders to prevent them from leaving the country while the case is pending before the Sandiganbayan. The cases have been raffled to Sandiganbayan divisions, which will determine whether to issue warrants of arrest.
Former DPWH Secretary Bonoan Among the Co-Accused
Charged alongside Estrada were former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, and three DPWH-National Capital Region officials: District Engineers Manny Bulusan and Arturo Gonzales Jr., and Assistant District Engineer Denryl Caesar Cortuna. Bonoan has publicly denied any involvement in corruption.
Charges against the late DPWH Undersecretary Catalina "Cathy" Cabral were dismissed following her death on December 19, 2025. Former officials Roberto Bernardo, Henry Alcantara, and Gerard Opulencia were excluded from the complaints after being admitted as state witnesses under the Department of Justice.
The filing represents the fourth batch of cases brought by the Ombudsman in connection with the flood control controversy since Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla assumed office in October 2025. The indictment followed a recommendation submitted by the DOJ on May 11, 2026, and stemmed from a complaint lodged by the Public Works and Bid-Rigging Task Force of the National Bureau of Investigation and the DOJ.
Estrada Denies Allegations, Cites Missing Evidence and Due Process Concerns
In a public statement released following the filing, Estrada denied all allegations and vowed to "exhaust all legal remedies." He maintained that official budget records do not support the claim that he inserted funds into the 2025 national budget, pointing to a letter from the Senate Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office (LBRMO) as proof.
The LBRMO letter, according to Estrada, explicitly states that there is no record showing he made any insertion in the 2025 national budget — evidence he claimed was deliberately set aside by investigators.
The senator also raised due process concerns, asserting that he was not given adequate opportunity to review and respond to the resolutions of both the DOJ and the Ombudsman before the case was filed before the Sandiganbayan.
"We will exhaust all legal remedies. At present, my lawyers are preparing the appropriate legal steps to show the irregularities in the process, as well as the evidence that was not given sufficient weight and consideration. Among these is the letter from the Senate Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office, or LBRMO, stating that there is no record showing that I made any insertion in the 2025 national budget. This is a crucial piece of evidence that directly disproves all allegations against me, yet it was deliberately set aside."
Estrada further questioned the pace of proceedings, noting that cases involving certain members of the Senate majority bloc have moved with "unusual speed" since a recent change in Senate leadership. He argued that the Ombudsman filed the charges barely a week after the DOJ issued its resolution — without, he said, conducting an independent fact-finding investigation, which he described as a required step before cases are elevated to the Sandiganbayan.
"It is also noticeable that, since the change in leadership in the Senate, the cases involving certain members of the majority bloc have moved with unusual speed. Barely a week after the DOJ issued its Resolution in my case, the Ombudsman immediately filed the case without conducting its own thorough and independent fact-finding investigation."
He concluded his statement by saying: "As I have said before, if this is the price that I have to pay for standing by my principles and for what I believe in, then so be it. I will continue to seek the truth and defend my name in the proper forum and in accordance with the law."
Allegations First Surfaced During September 2024 House Inquiry
The allegations underpinning the current charges were first raised publicly during a House inquiry in September 2024, when a witness accused Estrada of receiving at least P350 million in alleged "SOP," or standard operating procedure commissions, from flood control projects in Bulacan that were purportedly inserted into the 2025 national budget.
The controversy is part of a broader multibillion-peso flood control scandal that has triggered multiple legislative and executive investigations into DPWH infrastructure contracts and the alleged involvement of legislators in the fund insertion scheme.
Third Major Corruption Case in Estrada's Political Career
The latest filing adds to a decades-long record of high-profile legal battles for the senator. In 2001, Estrada was charged with plunder alongside his father in connection with jueteng, or illegal numbers game payoffs. The Sandiganbayan convicted the elder Estrada of plunder in September 2007 — a verdict followed weeks later by a presidential pardon from then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo — while Jinggoy Estrada was acquitted for insufficiency of evidence.
In 2014, Estrada was charged with plunder, graft, and bribery in connection with the alleged misuse of approximately P183 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations, in a scheme linked to businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles. He was eventually acquitted of the plunder count, although the Sandiganbayan rejected his bid to have the related graft charges dismissed.
The current case brings the total value of alleged illicit funds tied to Estrada across all three major cases to well over P750 million, spanning a quarter century of legal proceedings before the country's anti-graft court system.
Ombudsman Vows to Pursue All Those Liable in Flood Control Controversy
The Ombudsman has publicly signaled its intent to continue pursuing all individuals implicated in the flood control scandal. In a statement following the filing, Assistant Ombudsman Clavano said: "We have one shot to get these cases right. The Filipino people need to see justice."
With the cases now before the Sandiganbayan, the anti-graft court must first determine whether probable cause exists to issue warrants of arrest against Estrada and his co-accused. Should arrest warrants be issued and bail denied — as the Ombudsman has recommended — Estrada could face detention while awaiting trial.
Estrada has not announced any plans to resign from his Senate seat, and his legal team is expected to file the appropriate motions contesting both the substance of the charges and the process by which the case was elevated to the Sandiganbayan.
Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Senator Estrada/Facebook