MANILA, Philippines – After nearly a decade-long trial over plunder charges in connection with his alleged involvement in the multi-billion peso pork barrel scam, Senator Jinggoy Estrada can take a breather now. Well, for the plunder case, at least.
The Sandiganbayan 5th Division read the 396-page decision to Estrada on Friday, January 19.
He however is not completely off the hook as he was found guilty of one count of bribery and two counts of indirect bribery and was ordered to serve a sentence of 8-9 years for direct bribery and 2-3 years for indirect bribery, respectively.
Estrada was accused of pocketing P183 million worth of kickbacks from his Priority Development Assistance Fund or the discretionary funds for lawmakers inadvertently used to fund bogus non-government associations.
Estrada was the second of the three senators to walk free from the plunder charges following the acquittal of his good friend Senator Bong Revilla Jr. in 2021. The movie actor was cleared of all criminal charges related to the P124 million worth of discretionary funds resulting in 16 counts of graft cases.
Businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, who owns most of the NGOs and believed to have masterminded the PDAF scam however was convicted of plunder in the Revilla case.
Former senator Juan Ponce Enrile who currently serves as the chief presidential legal adviser is the only one left with an ongoing plunder case.
Estrada has maintained his innocence throughout. Having been out on bail since 2017, he was even able to secure a Senate seat in 2022 under the Marcos-Duterte ticket.
To date, this is Estrada’s second plunder win. His first was with father, former President Joseph Estrada. Together, the two were accused of kickbacking billions from jueteng operations, among others.Â
The younger Estrada was cleared but his father was convicted and later pardoned by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Estrada expected to appeal the guilty decision.