The Sandiganbayan Second Division on Monday, Aug. 3, denied the prosecution’s motion to exclude former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan as an accused in Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada’s pending graft case.

In a 12-page resolution penned by Presiding Justice Geraldine Faith A. Econg, the anti-graft court said the exclusion of Bonoan would “unduly restrict” the defenses available to Estrada.

“Accused Bonan’s participation as a co-accused may bear upon the presentation of evidence, the determination of the parties respective roles and the full ventilation of the issues surrounding the alleged offense,” it stated.

The Second Division, however, stressed that its denial does not foreclose Bonoan’s possible role as a prosecution witness and should not be construed as a ruling on the credibility or evidentiary weight of any future testimony he may provide.

“The prosecution is not precluded from subsequently seeking accused Bonoan’s discharge as a state witness as it remains at liberty to seek his discharge at the appropriate stage of the proceedings, provided that the requisites under the rules are met,” it stated.

Per the anti-graft court, the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that while the State has an interest in prosecuting offenses, such interest must be balanced with an accused’s fundamental procedural rights.

“Once arraigned, an accused is entitled to rely on the allegations contained in the Information to which he entered a plea, and the prosecution cannot thereafter substantially modify the charge in a manner that may place the accused at a disadvantage,” it stated.

“Accordingly, since accused Estrada has already been arraigned and the proposed amendment by the prosecution being substantial rather than formal in nature, the original information cannot be amended without prejudicing the rights of the accused.”

On July 14, Estrada’s camp opposed the prosecution’s motion to exclude Bonoan from the graft case.

It can be recalled that Estrada’s counsel, Laurence Hector B. Arroyo, argued that the prosecution’s proposed amended information would remove the allegation of conspiracy, alter the recital of facts in the information, and change the defenses presently available to the senator under the original information.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla had earlier announced that the prosecution would ask the anti-graft court to discharge Bonoan as an accused so he could testify as a state witness in several cases involving alleged anomalies in flood-control projects.

On May 28, the Office of the Ombudsman filed plunder and graft charges before the Sandiganbayan against Estrada and Bonoan over alleged illegal budget insertions and purported kickbacks linked to DPWH infrastructure and flood-control projects funded under the Fiscal Year 2025 budget.