MANILA — The Sandiganbayan has cleared the way for the graft trial of Senator Jinggoy Estrada to proceed after affirming its earlier decision denying his bid to dismiss the case stemming from the alleged multibillion-peso flood control fund anomalies.
In a resolution, the anti-graft court’s Second Division denied Estrada’s motion for reconsideration and rejected his other motions seeking to terminate the proceedings, ruling that he failed to present any new evidence or compelling legal argument to overturn its previous decision.
In the resolution penned by Presiding Justice Geraldine Econg, the court said: “The Motion neither presents newly discovered evidence nor demonstrates that the Court overlooked any material fact or controlling principle of law that would warrant a reversal of its earlier findings.”
Estrada had argued that the information filed against him was defective because it allegedly failed to specify his exact participation in the alleged offense.
The Sandiganbayan, however, ruled that the senator’s arguments raised factual issues that should be resolved during trial through the presentation of evidence rather than through a motion to quash.
The court also dismissed Estrada’s claim that his right to due process had been violated, noting that the pleadings he personally filed demonstrated that he clearly understood the charges against him.
Prosecutors accused Estrada and former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan of receiving kickbacks from government-funded infrastructure projects linked to the alleged flood control fund anomalies.
Aside from the graft case before the Second Division, Estrada is also facing a non-bailable plunder charge before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division arising from the same controversy.
The prosecution has likewise moved to amend the plunder information to remove Bonoan as an accused after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced that the former Public Works secretary would serve as a state witness in the government’s investigation./PN
