SEN. Jose Pimentel Ejercito alias Jinggoy Estrada on Thursday filed a petition for bail before the Sandigabayan in connection with the plunder case filed against him by the Office of the Ombudsman.
In a seven-page petition, Estrada, through his lawyers, insisted that the senator is entitled to bail on the ground that the evidence of his guilt is not strong.
Estrada filed the petition a day after the Fifth Division denied his motion to fix bail for being ‘premature.’
The antigraft court stressed that bail may be availed of only after the required evidentiary hearing on the prosecution’s evidence is conducted.
Estrada pointed out that under Article III, Section 13 of the Constitution, an accused may be denied bail only if evidence of guilt is strong.
‘Here, there has been no showing that the evidence against accused Estrada is strong. The Honorable Court issued a warrant of arrest against him on the basis merely of ‘probable cause,’ which is a much lower standard of proof than ‘strong evidence,’ the petition read.
‘Unless this high burden is met, the accused is entitled to bail as a matter of right,’ it added.
Estrada is facing trial before the Sandiganbayan for plunder and graft in connection with the complaint filed by the Office of the Ombudsman accusing him of receiving kickbacks from the government’s flood control projects amounting to over P573 million for the period 2024-2025.
The Ombudsman claimed that Estrada along with former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan and several individuals were involved in an ‘intricate mechanism involving illegal budgetary insertions and project allocations’ within the Department of Public Works and Highways infrastructure portfolio for the year 2025.
The antigraft body said its evaluation of the records shows that ‘substantial public funds were deliberately funneled into designated infrastructure projects in exchange for pre-determined commission fees or kickbacks.’
However, Estrada maintained that there is no strong evidence to prove that he demanded or solicited from former Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo or his aide any ‘kickbacks’ of ‘commitment’ from DPWH flood control or infrastructure projects.
FORMER congressman Michael Defensor and businessman Joseph Espiritu have also filed a petition for bail in connection with the plunder case filed against them for giving campaign contributions for the 2025 senatorial bid of their co-accused Sen. Rodante Marcoleta.
Defensor and Espiritu insisted that the evidence against them is not strong to warrant their continued detention pending proceedings on the case.
‘There is no strong evidence that accused Defensor gave a donation of P30 million to accused Marcoleta ‘by reason of his office or position,” the petition read.
‘There is no strong evidence that accused Espiritu gave a donation of P25 million to accused Marcoleta ‘by reason of his office or position,” it added.
Likewise, the petitioners said there is no strong evidence that they conspired with Marcoleta and another co-accused Aristotle Viray in order that the senator may amass or acquire ill-gotten wealth in the amount of P75 million.
The case stemmed from Marcoleta’s admission on national television that he received campaign contributions from Defensor, Espiritu and Viray in the amounts of P30 million, P25 million and P20 million, respectively, on various dates in January 2025.
The Ombudsman noted that Marcoleta failed to declare the amount in his statement of Contributions and Expenditures (Soce) submitted to the Commission on Elections or in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN), which is tantamount to ‘unjust enrichment.’
Marcoleta has denied the accusations against him.
All of the accused are currently detained at the Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory in Payatas.
Aside from plunder, Marcoleta and his co-accused are facing trial for violation of Presidential Decree No. 46 which prohibits public officials from receiving gifts.
PD46 also prohibits private individuals from offering gifts to government officials.