Court orders 90-day suspension of Jinggoy Estrada's 3 co-accused in flood fund plunder

The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division has ordered the 90-day preventive suspension of three Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials over plunder and graft cases linked to the flood control project anomalies.

The Fifth Division issued two separate resolutions on the suspension for the pending and graft cases of Manny Bulusan, Denryl Cortuna and Arturo Gonzales Jr., directing them to "cease and desist from further performing and/or exercising the functions, duties and privileges of their positions, or any other government position ....for a period of 90 days."

"The presumption is that unless the accused is suspended, he may frustrate his prosecution or commit further acts of malfeasance while in office...While it is true that detention places a rigid restraint on the accused's actions...this does not impose the absolute restriction mandated under Section 13 of RA 3109, which prohibits the accused from performing the functions that their detention merely renders them physically unable to perform while under detention," the resolutions added.

The resolutions were signed by Associate Justices Zaldy Trespeses, the division chairperson, and Maryann Corpus-Manalad and Gener Gito.

Bulusan and Gonzales, both DPWH district engineers, and Cortuna, assistant district engineer, were co-accused with Senator Jinggoy Estrada in the plunder case in connection with the flood control scandal.

The anti-graft court on June 16 also issued a 90-day preventive suspension on Estrada.

Estrada and the three public works officials are currently detained at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas, Quezon City.

The three DPWH executives have earlier pleaded not guilty in the plunder and graft cases. —LDF, GMA News