The Sandiganbayan 2nd Division on Friday, May 29, issued an arrest warrant and a hold departure order (HDO) against Senator Jinggoy Estrada in connection with a graft case linked to alleged kickbacks in a flood control project scandal.
According to RH's Val Gonzales report on "Rapido Hataw Balita," the anti-graft court confirmed that the warrant and HDO were issued after the case was raffled to its Second Division.
Alongside Estrada, the Sandiganbayan also issued warrants of arrest and hold departure orders against his co-respondents, including former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan and other DPWH officials.
Among those named were former DPWH officials and engineers identified as Engr. Denryl Cortuna, Engr. Arturo Gonzales Jr., and Engr. Manny Bulosan, who are also subject to the court’s arrest orders.
The arrest warrant came after the Office of the Ombudsman formally charged Estrada with graft, as well as plunder, a non-bailable offense punishable by life imprisonment.
The case stems from allegations involving supposed irregularities and kickbacks tied to flood control projects, which were also linked to alleged anomalous budget insertions and public works funding.
Estrada on Thursday said that if the case was the “price to pay” for upholding his principles and beliefs, “so be it.”
"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. Ipagpapatuloy ko ang paghahanap ng katotohanan at ang pagtatanggol sa aking pangalan sa tamang forum at alinsunod sa batas,” he said in a statement.
The senator said he and his lawyers will “exhaust all legal remedies,” and call attention to purported irregularities in the filing process and evidence against him.
Authorities have not yet issued further details on the timing of arrests or the enforcement of the HDO.
