Sandiganbayan Enters Not-Guilty Plea for Jinggoy Estrada After He Refuses to Plead; Arraignment in ₱573M Plunder Case Set for June 30

## Sandiganbayan Enters Not-Guilty Plea for Jinggoy Estrada After He Refuses to Plead; Arraignment in ₱573M Plunder Case Set for June 30 **Senator Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada was arraigned on June 4 before the Sandiganbayan Second Division on a graft charge linked to the flood control corruption scandal — but remained silent when asked to enter a plea, forcing the anti-graft court to record a not-guilty plea on his behalf under the rules of procedure. The more serious, non-bailable plunder case involving an alleged ₱573 million in kickbacks has been rescheduled for arraignment on June 30.** The graft proceeding moved forward after the Sandiganbayan denied Estrada's omnibus motion seeking to quash the information, dismiss the case outright, and order a reinvestigation. The court's rejection of the motion cleared the legal path to arraignment. When presiding justice asked Estrada to enter his plea, the senator declined to speak. Under Philippine procedural rules, a refusal to plead is treated as a not-guilty plea, which the court entered on the record. The hearing lasted approximately two hours, according to reports by Rappler and the Philippine Star. ### The Charges Ombudsman prosecutors accuse Estrada of conspiring with former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan to solicit and receive commitment fees — effectively kickbacks — from contractors awarded flood control projects in Bulacan. The graft information alleges Estrada sought earmarks totaling ₱355 million for projects in Bulacan's first district and an additional ₱500 million for other Bulacan districts, or a combined ₱855 million in project funding. Prosecutors allege commitment fees were set at 25%, amounting to an alleged ₱213.7 million across those projects. The larger plunder case — filed in a separate division of the court — covers the alleged ₱573 million in total kickbacks and is non-bailable. Estrada surrendered to the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group on June 1 after the Sandiganbayan issued a non-bailable arrest warrant on that plunder count. He had already posted ₱90,000 bail on the bailable graft charge earlier. Bonoan, the former DPWH secretary, was not present at the June 4 graft arraignment. His arraignment is also set for June 30, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. ### No Outright Defense Estrada's legal team did not enter a substantive defense at the June 4 hearing, relying instead on the procedural motions — all of which the court denied. His camp has not yet issued a public statement addressing the substance of the graft allegations. The senator has previously denied involvement in kickback schemes and framed the charges against him as politically motivated, a characterization the Ombudsman and the prosecution panel dispute. ### Context Estrada's case is the most high-profile proceeding to emerge from a corruption scandal that has engulfed the DPWH's flood control program, particularly in Bulacan. Multiple witnesses have testified before Senate committees and Ombudsman investigators about a system in which contractors paid fixed "commitment fees" to district engineers and, allegedly, to lawmakers who inserted flood control budget items. The scandal has had measurable economic consequences: DPWH's infrastructure outlays collapsed by more than 44% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, as the agency imposed stringent billing validation controls in the wake of the investigations. Economic managers have cited the spending freeze as a factor in GDP growth slowing to 2.8% in the first quarter. The flood control scandal has also complicated the ongoing Senate leadership crisis: the rival Blue Ribbon Committee convened by the Cayetano bloc has been holding hearings on the same subject, prompting legal challenges about which proceedings are legitimate. --- **Sources:** - "Sandigan enters not-guilty plea for Jinggoy," *The Philippine Star*, June 5, 2026. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/06/05/2532965/sandigan-enters-not-guilty-plea-jinggoy - "Sandigan junks Jinggoy's plea to dismiss graft raps, enters not guilty plea," *The Philippine Star*, June 4, 2026. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/06/04/2532797/sandigan-junks-jinggoys-plea-dismiss-graft-raps-enters-not-guilty-plea - "Moving to trial: Sandiganbayan denies Jinggoy's bid to dismiss graft case," *Rappler*, June 4, 2026. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/sandiganbayan-denies-jinggoy-estrada-motion-dismiss-graft-case-arraignment/ - "Jinggoy Estrada seeks bail in flood control plunder case," *GMA News Online*. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/990128/jinggoy-estrada-seeks-bail-in-flood-control-plunder-case/story/ - "Arraignment of Estrada, Bonoan set June 30; 3 co-accused plead not guilty," *Philippine Daily Inquirer*. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2240108/arraignment-of-estrada-bonoan-set-at-june-30-co-accused-pleads-not-guilty - "Arraignment moved for Estrada, Bonoan," *The Manila Times*, June 5, 2026. https://www.manilatimes.net/2026/06/05/news/national/arraignment-moved-for-estrada-bonoan/2358990