The Sandiganbayan has denied the request of Jinggoy Estrada to compel the Office of the Ombudsman to transmit the full records of the preliminary investigation in his ongoing graft cases linked to the alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund.
In a resolution promulgated Thursday, the court’s Fifth Division upheld its earlier ruling, saying Estrada failed to justify the need for the documents in his motion for reconsideration. The senator had argued that the records were necessary for the effective cross-examination of witnesses.
However, the anti-graft court said the motion merely reiterated arguments that had already been considered.
“The accused’s assertions are vague, all-encompassing, and do not sufficiently describe the books, papers and documents that he intends to introduce as evidence,” the resolution stated.
The ruling was penned by Associate Justice Maryann Corpus-Mañalac, with concurrences from Associate Justices Zaldy Trespeses and Gener Gito.
Estrada’s camp maintained that the request was a matter of right under the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, asserting that it specifically covered “all the statements other than the affidavits of the complainants and the respondents.”
But prosecutors argued that the request amounted to a “general inquisitorial examination,” a position the court agreed with. It added that Estrada’s counsel had already been able to extensively cross-examine witnesses without the supplemental records.
“Ordering the transmittal thereof sans any clear and compelling reason would be arbitrary,” the resolution read.
Estrada was acquitted of plunder in January 2024 in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, although graft charges related to the case remain pending before the court.