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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Jinggoy Estrada, 4 co-respondents in plunder charge need court permission to leave PH

Jinggoy Estrada, 4 co-respondents in plunder charge need court permission to leave PH

Published Feb 17, 2026 02:15 pm
Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada and his four co-respondents in a plunder charge at the Department of Justice (DOJ) will have to seek court permission to leave the country, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
BI Spokesperson Dana Sandoval pointed this out during an interview on PTV’s Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon after the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 52 issued last Feb. 10 a precautionary hold departure order (PHDO) that prevents Estrada and his co-respondents from leaving the Philippines.
The person subject of the PHDO will not be allowed to leave the country without the approval of the court that issued the order, Sandoval said.
“With the precautionary hold departure order po kasi sinasabi hindi muna maaaring umalis ng bansa ‘yung subject dahil may kaso s’ya na kinakaharap (The precautionary hold departure order states that persons are not allowed to leave the country due to cases they are still facing),” she added.
However, Sandoval said there were cases when the courts, despite the PHDO, allowed the departure “on emergency cases or important and urgent matters to attend to abroad.”
She explained that a PHDO is issued by the court “because the judge has found that the person is a flight risk or will most likely flee the country to evade prosecution.”
The Manila RTC granted the petition of the DOJ prosecutors to issue a PHDO against Estrada, former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel Bonoan, former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, DPWH Regional Director Gerard Opulencia, and former DPWH Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara.
They have been charged with plunder before the DOJ by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in the government’s flood control anomalies. The charge is undergoing preliminary investigation by a panel of prosecutors.
Of the five respondents, Bonoan has publicly stated his intention to go to the United States for his wife who will undergo a medical procedure this February.
Sandoval said that if Bonoan asks the court permission to travel abroad and the court bars him from leaving the country, the BI will not allow him to depart.
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