THE Office of the Ombudsman is set to file plunder and malversation charges against Senator Jinggoy Estrada in relation to his alleged involvement in the flood control anomalies.
In a press conference on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said they are finalizing the complaints against Estrada, adding that the complaints are expected to be filed before the Sandiganbayan by Thursday, May 28, 2026.
“Kaya medyo natagalan ng konti. Nung binasa namin ang Department of Justice (DOJ) resolution, meron kaming nakitang kailangan ng corrections kaya ayaw namin mag-file ng hindi pulido, kaya pinulido lang namin kaya inabot pa ng mahigit isang linggo, para mas malinaw ang mga kasong ilalahad natin sa Sandiganbayan,” Remulla said.
“Gustio naming pulido ang kaso tsaka gusto namin pag-finile ang kaso, ang ebidensya hawak na namin, lahat wala kaming kakapain na talagang dere-derecho natin ilalahad,” he added.
In a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on flood control anomalies in September 2025, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) assistant engineer Brice Hernandez, claimed Estrada received 30 percent of the project cost from a government flood project in Bulacan in 2025.
Hernandez said Estrada downloaded P355 million flood-mitigating project funds in the city of Malolos and Hagonoy and Calumpit towns in Bulacan. Thirty percent of the total project cost was given back to Estrada as commission.
Dismissed Bulacan first district engineer Henry Alcantara also tagged Estrada in the flood control kickback scheme.
Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson confirmed that there was indeed a P355 million worth of insertions in the 2025 national budget, which was allocated for five flood-control projects in the province of Bulacan.
He said the item was not in the 2025 National Expenditures Program (NEP) or in the House General Appropriations Bill (GAB) and could have probably been inserted in the Senate version of the Bicameral Conference Committee).
Estrada vehemently denied the accusations, saying there were individuals who wanted to destroy him since, among the other senators, he is the most vulnerable.
Estrada was charged over his alleged involvement in the multi-million peso pork barrel scam but he was later acquitted by the Sandiganbayan.
He filed perjury complaints against Hernandez in October 2025. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)
