Sandiganbayan 2nd Division Orders 90-Day Suspension of Senator Jinggoy Estrada Once Resolution Becomes Final

The Sandiganbayan 2nd Division on June 16 ordered Senator Jinggoy Estrada suspended from his Senate seat and any other public office for 90 days. The resolution states the suspension begins upon receipt and takes effect once the order becomes final. It also covers any future public positions Estrada may hold.

On June 4 the same division arraigned Estrada and directed him to comment within 10 days on possible suspension. Section 13 of Republic Act No. 3019 requires suspension when a public officer faces a graft case.

Estrada faces one count of graft before the 2nd Division and one count of plunder plus another graft count before the 5th Division. The charges stem from an alleged kickback scheme in flood-control projects. The Office of the Ombudsman filed the charges on May 28.

He has been held at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas since June 1. The Ombudsman described an “intricate mechanism” of illegal budget insertions and project allocations at the Department of Public Works and Highways in 2025.

Funds were allegedly routed to specific projects in exchange for predetermined kickbacks. “Case records point to an accumulated sum of illicit payouts amounting to an aggregate sum of over P573 million, which were systematically delivered to the principal respondent, Senator Jinggoy Estrada,” the Ombudsman said.

Estrada is the highest-ranking official arrested in the multibillion-peso flood-control cases.