Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Ejercito Estrada was arraigned on Thursday afternoon, June 4, before the Sandiganbayan Second Division on a graft charge linked to alleged irregularities in Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects, with the anti-graft court entering a not guilty plea on his behalf after he declined to plead.

The arraignment proceeded after the anti-graft court denied Estrada’s omnibus motion seeking to quash the information, dismiss the case, and order a reinvestigation.

“[T]he motion to quash, motion to dismiss and/or reinvestigation is denied, and there being no ground existing to prevent the arraignment of the accused, the Court now proceeds with the arraignment of the accused,” said Presiding Justice Geraldine Faith Econg, chairperson of the Sandiganbayan’s Second Division.

Addressing Estrada’s motion to dismiss the case with prejudice on the ground of an alleged violation of his right to due process, Econg said the senator argued that the information filed against him was defective because the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) did not file a complaint-affidavit before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“However, what is surprising is that the accused himself still submitted his counter-affidavit to the said letter complaint filed before the DOJ by the NBI. That in itself shows that the accused was given an opportunity to defend himself against baseless accusations before the DOJ,” she said.

Estrada attended the proceedings via videoconference after the court granted his request to appear remotely.

His lawyer, Atty. Noel Ostrea, told the court that the senator is suffering from osteoarthritis in both knees, prompting him to opt for virtual attendance.

The Sandiganbayan also denied the motion filed by former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan seeking the dismissal of the graft charge.

However, Bonoan was not arraigned on Thursday due to his absence from the proceedings.

Bonoan neither appeared physically nor via videoconference before the anti-graft court.

His legal counsel informed the court that the former DPWH chief is currently confined at The Medical City while under the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and was unable to attend the arraignment.

Earlier, Estrada and Bonoan each posted bail of P90,000 before the Sandiganbayan’s Second Division in connection with the graft charge.

On May 28, the Office of the Ombudsman filed plunder and graft charges against Estrada and Bonoan before the Sandiganbayan in connection with alleged illegal budget insertions and the disbursement of alleged kickbacks involving DPWH infrastructure and flood-control projects funded under the Fiscal Year 2025 budget.

Apart from the graft case pending before the Second Division, Estrada and Bonoan are also facing a plunder charge before the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division together with three DPWH engineers in connection with the same alleged scheme.