Senator Jinggoy Estrada has filed an urgent motion asking the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division to allow him to post bail in connection with his plunder case.
He is facing charges over a P573-million plunder scheme involving alleged kickbacks from government flood control projects.
The anti-graft court has scheduled the deliberation on his urgent motion to fix bail, as well as his request to transfer to another detention facility for Thursday morning, 4 June , alongside his scheduled formal arraignment.
Charged alongside Estrada are several co-accused, including former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, Assistant District Engineer Denryl Caesar Sanchez Cortuna, and District Engineers Manny Bumagat Bulusan and Arturo Lombres Gonzales Jr.
Although plunder is generally deemed a non-bailable offense under Philippine law when the evidence of guilt is strong, the accused retains the constitutional right to petition for bail. The anti-graft court must then evaluate prosecution’s evidence and determine whether it meets the high legal threshold required to deny the request for temporary liberty.
