Senator Estrada opposes bid to remove Bonoan as co-accused in graft case

The camp of detained Senator Jinggoy Estrada on Tuesday opposed state prosecutors' bid to remove former Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan as a co-accused in a graft case before the Sandiganbayan which will allow him to be a cooperating witness in several flood control cases.

The opposition came after prosecutors filed a Motion for Leave to File Amended Information on June 29 seeking Bonoan's exclusion from the case. The Sandiganbayan Second Division, chaired by Presiding Justice Geraldine Faith Econg, heard arguments from both sides during Tuesday's hearing.

Estrada's lead counsel, Laurence Arroyo, argued that removing Bonoan from the case would prejudice the senator's defense.

"It will alter the availability of defenses presently available to Senator Estrada," Arroyo told the court.

He added that the proposed amended information would remove the allegation that Estrada and Bonoan conspired to commit the offense, which he said is a material aspect of the defense.

State prosecutor Reza Casila-Derayunan countered that the amendment was merely formal and would not change the allegations against Estrada.

"Accused Estrada still faces the same criminal [case] arising from the same set of facts," Casila-Derayunan said.

While prosecutors insisted the amendment was only procedural, Estrada's camp maintained that it constituted a substantial change that could prejudice the senator's defense.

After hearing both sides, Presiding Justice Econg said the motion was submitted for resolution.

"The court has heard enough," Econg said. "We would like to render a full-blown resolution."

Bonoan remains under hospital arrest at the Philippine National Police General Hospital, while Estrada has been detained since June 1.

Both face plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan's Fifth Division over alleged kickbacks from 2025 flood control projects.

The separate graft case pending before the Second Division involves alleged kickbacks amounting to ₱213 million from flood control projects in Bulacan, which prosecutors said represented about 25 percent of the province's ₱855 million worth of flood control contracts.