Daily Tribune
Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta huddled at the Senate Plenary session on Tuesday, 26 May, after it was announced by the Office of the Ombudsman that a case of plunder would be filed against the latter over his supposed involvement in the multibillion peso flood control scandal.
Aram Lascano
The Office of the Ombudsman has filed plunder, graft and bribery complaints before the Sandiganbayan against Senator Jinggoy Estrada and several former Department of Public Works and Highways (dpwh) officials over what prosecutors described as a sprawling P573-million kickback scheme tied to flood control projects funded under the 2025 national budget.
The complaints accuse Estrada and his alleged co-conspirators of manipulating infrastructure allocations and funneling public funds to selected flood control projects in exchange for commissions and unlawful payouts.
Named respondents were former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, the late Undersecretary Catalina Cabral and DPWH officials Roberto Bernardo, Henry Alcantara and Gerard Opulencia.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said the charges against Cabral were dismissed following her death on 19 December 2025, while Bernardo, Alcantara and Opulencia were removed from the complaint
