The Office of the Ombudsman announced it will conduct an independent review following a recommendation from state prosecutors to file plunder and corruption charges against Senator Jinggoy Estrada and several former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials over an alleged budget-rigging scheme.
Estrada faces the prospect of re-arrest after Department of Justice (DOJ) investigators recommended the immediate filing of criminal informations for plunder, direct bribery, and violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act against him and his co-respondents.
The case stemmed from an extensive probe by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) into alleged structural manipulations within the 2025 national budget allocations. According to the DOJ, a network of public officers altered project specifications and siphoned state funds by allegedly pocketing 30% kickbacks from regional flood control projects.
Aside from Estrada, DOJ panelists named former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan as a primary respondent in the multi-million peso anomaly, alongside several former DPWH executives and regional engineers who allegedly acted as co-conspirators.
Meanwhile, complaints against the late former Public Works Undersecretary Catalina Cabral were recommended for dismissal due to her death in December 2025.
To secure the indictments, the prosecution relied on the testimonies of three high-ranking public works officials who have turned state witnesses under the government’s Witness Protection Program. Former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, Regional Director Gerard Opulencia, and District Engineer Henry Alcantara were recommended for exclusion from the criminal charges in exchange for their full cooperation.
Following the formal receipt of the DOJ’s findings, the anti-graft body stated that it would initiate its own assessment of the infrastructure scandal.
“Moving forward, the next step will be to allow the Office of the Ombudsman to conduct its own independent review and resolution on the merits of the case,” the office added.
The development could lead to a legal reunion for Estrada and former Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., who is currently detained over separate graft and malversation charges involving an alleged ₱92 million “ghost” project in Pandi, Bulacan.
Both lawmakers were previously arrested in 2014 for their alleged involvement in the multibillion-peso Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel scam. Estrada was granted bail by the Sandiganbayan in 2017, while Revilla was released on bail in 2018 following his acquittal from plunder, though his related graft cases remained active.