Jinggoy Estrada to face plunder, malversation charges over flood control —Ombudsman

Plunder and malversation charges will be filed against Senator Jinggoy Estrada before the Sandiganbayan on Thursday in connection with the flood control mess, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said Tuesday.

"Plunder, and malversation [will be filed against Senator Estrada]. Pinupulido lang namin," Remulla said.

(We are polishing it.)

The Ombudsman has filed three batches of malversation and graft charges in relation to the flood control mess so far since Remulla took office in October 2025.

Sought for comment, Estrada said in a chance interview that he would consult his legal team on the next steps regarding the case.

“If this is the price that I have to pay for standing on my own principles and what I believe in, so be it,” he said.

Estrada maintained that official budget records do not support allegations that he inserted funds in the proposed budget.

“Basta ang alam ko, sabi ng Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office (LBRMO), wala akong insertion katulad ng sinasabi nila noong first Blue Ribbon," he said.

(As far as I know, the Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office [LBRMO] said I had no insertion, contrary to the allegations raised during the first Blue Ribbon hearing.)

"‘Yung ibinulgar ni Bryce Hernandez sa House na meron akong insertion, nagkataon na dito sa LBRMO, wala silang record na ako ay may insertion,” Estrada added.

(What Bryce Hernandez disclosed in the House — that I supposedly had an insertion — is not supported by LBRMO records, which show no such insertion.)

Asked whether politics was behind the case, Estrada replied: “Your guess is as good as mine.”

Hernandez implicated Estrada in alleged anomalous flood control projects during a House Infrastructure Committee hearing in September, claiming that the senator had allegedly inserted P355 million worth of infrastructure projects in Bulacan. Estrada has denied the accusation.—with a report from Sundy Locus/KG/MCG, GMA News