By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada remained in detention Thursday after the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division rejected his bid to have bail fixed in his plunder case and entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf during his arraignment.
Estrada declined to personally enter a plea when arraigned on plunder and graft charges stemming from allegations that he received kickbacks from government flood control projects.
With no plea entered by the senator, the court entered a not guilty plea for him, allowing the cases to proceed.
The Fifth Division separately denied Estrada’s motion for reconsideration seeking to reverse its earlier ruling that his request to have bail fixed was premature.
In its six-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Gener M. Gito, the court said there was no sufficient reason to overturn its July 24 ruling, which held that it must first conduct a bail hearing to determine whether the evidence of guilt against Estrada is strong.
“Until a hearing determines that the evidence of guilt is not strong, the court has no basis to set a bail amount. Consequently, the motion is denied,” the court said.
The Fifth Division also rejected Estrada’s argument concerning his alleged lack of flight risk, stressing that such consideration does not remove the court’s obligation to first assess the strength of the prosecution’s evidence.
“In fine, accused Estrada’s motion for reconsideration has failed to demonstrate any substantial error of fact or law,” the court said.
The charges against Estrada involve allegations that he received about P573.75 million in kickbacks through government flood control contracts.
The proceedings came a day after the same division ordered the release of former Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan following his exclusion from the cases.
The court had granted the prosecution’s request to remove Bonoan as an accused in the plunder and graft cases involving Estrada and three former DPWH district engineers.
The Office of the Ombudsman intends to use Bonoan as a state witness in separate cases involving alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
Following his exclusion, Bonoan’s counsel sought his immediate release from detention. The Fifth Division subsequently recalled the commitment orders against him and directed his release from the Philippine National Police Health Service General Hospital, unless he was being held for another lawful cause.
Bonoan’s exclusion, however, does not affect the charges pending against Estrada. The senator remains detained as the Sandiganbayan proceeds with the cases and awaits the required hearing on the strength of the evidence supporting the plunder charge.
ia/xf
