The Sandiganbayan Second Division on Tuesday, June 2, postponed the arraignment of Senator Jinggoy Estrada and former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan regarding a graft case involving alleged flood control project anomalies.
Presiding Justice Geraldine Faith Econg, chairperson of the Second Division, rescheduled the arraignment and pre-trial to June 4 at 1:30 p.m. to guarantee that the defendants can thoroughly exercise their legal options before entering their pleas.
“To give full opportunity for all the accused to exercise their procedural rights prior to arraignment, the court decides to reset the arraignment scheduled today to June 4 at 1:30 o’clock in the afternoon,” Econg said.
On June 1, Estrada’s defense team submitted multiple urgent motions, asking the court to quash the charges, dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, or temporarily halt the process to complete a thorough reinvestigation.
Furthermore, his attorney requested that the senator be permitted to wear civilian clothes during court appearances rather than standard detainee gear.
“Considering that he voluntarily surrendered, we would like to request that he should be allowed to appear as an ordinary person and not as accused in BJMP uniform and handcuffs,” his lawyer said.
The anti-graft court instructed the defense to put this request in writing. The court also addressed Estrada’s appeal to join sessions via video conference due to his obligations in Congress. The Sandiganbayan expressed no objection, noting that online setups are common in other courtrooms, though it clarified that it cannot dictate his attendance at Senate functions.
In a separate development, Bonoan’s legal counsel stated that the former secretary was medically unfit to proceed.
Bonoan arrived in a wheelchair and reportedly suffered a bout of dizziness during the session.
Court medical personnel evaluated him, recording a blood pressure of 160/90. They confirmed that Bonoan is currently hospitalized at the PNP General Hospital after turning himself in on June 1 over a separate, non-bailable plunder warrant from the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division.
The court approved a defense request for a short delay to allow Bonoan to recuperate, shifting his arraignment and pre-trial schedule to Thursday afternoon.