Sandiganbayan 2nd Division denies Estrada graft motion to quash, enters not-guilty plea after senator refuses to plead

The Sandiganbayan Second Division ruled on Thursday, June 4, 2026, on Estrada's bid to dismiss the graft case the Office of the Ombudsman filed against him on May 28, 2026 in connection with alleged illegal DPWH budget insertions and the disbursement of kickbacks under the Fiscal Year 2025 General Appropriations Act. Presiding Justice Geraldine Faith Econg, chairperson of the Second Division, read into the record that the motion to quash, motion to dismiss, and motion for reinvestigation were all denied for lack of ground, and ordered the arraignment to proceed immediately. Asked to enter a plea, Estrada said he wished to remain silent. Under the Rules of Criminal Procedure, the court then entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf and moved the case to pre-trial. The graft information tracks the same alleged P573 million in kickbacks the Ombudsman charged as plunder before the Fifth Division. The Fifth Division on the same day reset the plunder arraignment to June 30 pending Estrada's separate motion to quash on the plunder count. Former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, Estrada's co-accused on both informations, did not appear; he was under hospital arrest at the PNP General Hospital. Pre-trial dates for the graft case were calendared from the bench.