The Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division has granted a request from the Office of the Ombudsman to drop former Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan from the criminal charge sheet involving Senator Jinggoy Estrada.
Voting 2-1, the anti-graft tribunal ruled that determining who should serve as a state witness falls within the prosecutorial prerogative of the Ombudsman.
“The decision to move for the discharge of an accused is part of the Ombudsman’s prosecutorial discretion of who should be used as a state witness, to bolster the successful prosecution of criminal offenses,” the Sandiganbayan stated in its ruling.
The court highlighted that governing statutes grant the Ombudsman full authority to offer immunity to key figures willing to provide state testimony.
In response to the ruling, Senator Estrada indicated that he will explore all available judicial avenues to challenge the development.
“While I respect the decision of the Sandiganbayan, I wish to emphasize that there remain legal remedies available to me under our judicial system, which my legal team will carefully study and pursue at the appropriate time,” Estrada said.
“My faith in our judicial system remains firm,” he added.
Bonoan was originally indicted in May alongside Estrada and three other individuals over allegations of conspiring to siphon off more than P500 million in commissions from public flood control projects.
The Ombudsman formally requested Bonoan’s discharge in June after the former cabinet official offered to assist investigators. Prosecutors emphasized that his insider testimony is crucial to dismantling the systemic nature of the alleged scheme.
“His cooperation was indispensable to uncover the architecture that may have set the entire machinery in motion,” the Ombudsman noted in a June 11, 2026 resolution.
Both Estrada and Bonoan have yet to undergo formal arraignment before the Fifth Division as the court works through remaining motions, with Estrada’s arraignment scheduled for September 3.