MANILA, Philippines — Suspended Sen. Jinggoy Estrada allegedly inserted over P1.6 billion worth of projects into the Department of Public Works and Highways’ 2025 budget, a DPWH engineer told the Sandiganbayan yesterday.
During Estrada’s bail hearing before the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division, DPWH programming division chief engineer Peter Paul Cortez said 16 projects in Metro Manila and Bulacan attributed to Estrada were not in the National Expenditure Program, but were included in the 2025 national budget.
Of the number, 12 projects amounting to P855 million were in Bulacan. The rest, costing P750 million, were in Metro Manila.
Estrada, who is being held at the Quezon City Jail in Payatas, is facing a plunder case over alleged kickbacks from infrastructure projects.
Cortez said the instruction for the budget insertions came from the late DPWH undersecretary Cathy Cabral.
The engineer, however, admitted that he has no personal knowledge that Estrada made the request for insertions.
Cotez also said the proposed projects were forwarded to former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan for final approval.
Bonoan was initially a co-accused in the plunder case, but the ombudsman excluded him so he can be a state witness in anomalous flood control projects.
DPWH engineer Gerard Longoria also testified, saying Cabral was the one who gave the instruction on the project list.
Longoria mentioned a referral or action slip with a list of projects allegedly connected to Estrada for funding.