Jinggoy Estrada sought impeachment trial furlough from wrong court division

The Sandiganbayan Second Division has granted Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s bid to withdraw his motion to allow him to participate in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

The anti-graft court ruled in favor of Estrada’s motion because the senator filed it in the wrong division.

Estrada should have filed the motion before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division, where he is facing a non-bailable P573 million plunder case. A non-bailable offense means the accused will have to file a bail petition first and convince the court that such a bid has merits before securing temporary liberty.

“[We are] acting on the Manifestation (Re: Motion to Allow Accused Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada to Attend the Senate Impeachment Trial or Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio) dated June 30, 2026 filed by accused Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, through counsel, informing the Court that he is withdrawing his earlier motion to be allowed to attend the Senate Impeachment trial as it was meant for the Fifth Division, and mistakenly filed with the Second Division,” the Sandiganbayan said.

“Finding the withdrawal to be in order, the motion to allow his attendance in the impeachment trial is hereby deemed withdrawn. Accordingly, the directive under this Court's Order dated June 30, 2026 requiring the plaintiff to file its comment within five days is hereby recalled and rendered moot and academic,” the anti-graft court added.

Aside from the P573 million plunder charge, Estrada is also facing flood control-related graft cases in the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth and Second Divisions. He has filed a P90,000 bail for each of these graft cases.

Estrada’s co-accused in the plunder and graft cases include former Department Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel Bonoan, DPWH National Capital Region District Engineers Manny Bulusan and Arturo Gonzalez, Jr. and Assistant District Engineer Denryl Caesar Cortuna.

The Ombudsman, however, has since announced that it plans to discharge Bonoan as an accused and use him as a state witness in the filing of bigger cases. —LDF, GMA News