MANILA, Philippines — Senator Jinggoy Estrada has strongly rejected claims made by former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan that he secured at least ₱7.4 billion in congressional initiatives under the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
In a statement issued late Tuesday, October 27, Estrada maintained that these allegations are completely false, citing official Senate records to back up his defense. He pointed out that the official documents of the Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office (LBRMO) clearly dispute such claims.
“The LBRMO, in a letter submitted to the Ombudsman last March, stated that ‘there are no legislative records or official documents indicating any official insertions or amendments made by a senator, specifically Senator Jinggoy Estrada, in the 2025 (national budget) related to the DPWH’,” Estrada stated.
He added that Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson previously echoed similar findings during a privilege speech.
Furthermore, Estrada emphasized that the national budget is a collective legislative product rather than the unilateral work of any individual lawmaker. “It is the product of both Houses of Congress, approved by the President—all in accordance with the constitutional process,” he noted.
The controversy surfaced after Bonoan—who previously faced plunder charges alongside Estrada in connection with alleged kickback schemes involving flood-control projects—testified as a state witness before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division.
During Tuesday’s court proceedings, Bonoan alleged that the senator held at least ₱7.4 billion in congressional initiatives, a ₱475-million collaborative project with a House representative, and a ₱1-billion request under the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) for 2025.
According to the former DPWH chief, the SLF was supposedly established to keep senators from interfering with the President’s budget for the agency. Bonoan claimed that former Public Works Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral recommended a ₱500-million allocation for Estrada, which subsequently made its way into the proposed DPWH budget.
While Bonoan claimed to possess a copy of the project list linked to Estrada’s SLF—alleging that a portion of the funds was intended for elections—he acknowledged that the documents lacked any official acknowledgement receipts or the senator’s signature.
Attending the trial via teleconference, Estrada vehemently denied the claims, noting specifically that he was not even running for re-election during the 2025 polls.
Prosecution panels have similarly pointed to the separate ₱475-million joint initiative, keeping legal scrutiny focused on the ongoing Sandiganbayan proceedings.