Jinggoy Estrada declines to enter plea in flood control related plunder, graft raps

Senator Jinggoy Estrada on Thursday refused to enter a plea in the P573 million plunder and graft cases filed against him in connection with his alleged involvement in the flood control mess.
As a result, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division entered a not guilty plea for the Senator.

Atty. Laurence Arroyo, the counsel for Estrada, said the Senator refused to enter the plea as a form of protest since the court granted the Ombudsman prosecutors’s motion to drop former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan from the list of accused in the P573 million plunder and graft charges since Bonoan will be listed as one of the prosecution’s witnesses for the flood control-related cases.

This decision left Estrada the lone accused in the graft case pending before the Fifth Division.

“It's (refusal to enter plea) a challenge to the motion to amended information in the plunder case against Senator Estrada. It is his decision not to enter a plea,” Arroyo told reporters after Estrada’s arraignment.

“We are studying our options with respect to the order of the court granting a motion to amend the information which resulted in the discharge of Secretary Bonoan,” Arroyo added.

In addition, Arroyo said Estrada is prepared to contest both the plunder and graft charge and the ruling of the court discharging Bonoan as one of the accused.

“There's been a change in theory [of the prosecution] but we will defend against the plunder charge. We will also, at the same time. pursue our remedies against the amendment [of information] because there's been a substantial change in the theory of the government, which in part affects our overall defense strategy,” Arroyo said.

Filing a petition for certiorari against the Sandiganbayan before the Supreme Court, Arroyo said, is also an option for Estrada.

But for now, Arroyo said they are focused on securing a favorable court decision on Estrada’s motion for bail.

“The important thing for us today was to just have arraignment (entering of plea) [done] so that the bail proceedings can already proceed,” Arroyo said.

Estrada arrived at the Sandiganbayan on Thursday on crutches.

Last week, Estrada was rushed to Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City on Wednesday after suffering a tear in his left knee.

According to Glenn Juego's report on Super Radyo dzBB, Estrada's doctor, Dr. Jose Fernando Syquia, said the senator suffered the injury after getting up from a seated position, when his knee suddenly made a cracking sound.

Estrada then began experiencing difficulty walking and severe pain, the doctor said.

The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division, meanwhile, has granted the Ombudsman’s motion to drop former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan from the accused in the plunder and graft cases due to Bonoan serving as a government witness against perpetrators of the flood control mess.

This decision left Estrada the lone accused in the graft case pending before the Fifth Division. —VAL, GMA News