Ombudsman to file plunder, malversation raps vs Sen. Jinggoy Estrada at Sandiganbayan Thursday

On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced that his office would file plunder and malversation charges against Sen. Jinggoy Estrada at the Sandiganbayan on Thursday, May 28, over the flood control kickback scheme. Remulla said he would sign the case information later the same day. The DOJ transmitted its preliminary investigation resolution on May 18, 2026, recommending plunder under Republic Act 7080, graft under sections 3(b) and 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, direct bribery, corruption of public officials, and receiving gifts. Remulla said the eight-day interval before filing reflected revisions his office made to the DOJ draft. "When we read the DOJ resolution, we saw something that needed corrections, we don't want to file information that is not polished," he said. The case draws on the affidavit of former Bulacan engineer Brice Hernandez, who described a 30 percent illegal cut on a ₱355 million Bulacan 1st District allocation, alongside testimony from former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, former Bulacan 1st District Engineer Henry Alcantara, and engineer Opulencia. Bernardo, Alcantara, and Opulencia were excluded from the charge sheet under state-witness arrangements with the DOJ. Former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan is among the co-respondents named in the May 18 recommendation. At the same press briefing Remulla said a plunder case against Sen. Joel Villanueva over a separate flood control allocation was "ripe" and could follow. He also flagged the Ombudsman's preparation of a "grand case" against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez for conspiracy to defraud the treasury, alongside a second money laundering complaint. Estrada had previously called the DOJ recommendation "baffling and unjust" in a May 19 statement, citing a Senate Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office finding that no record placed him as author of any budget insertion. He had not issued a fresh statement in direct response to the May 26 announcement.