Bonoan: Estrada has over P7 billion ‘initiatives’ in 2025 budget

MANILA, Philippines —Sen. Jinggoy Estrada has over P7 billion in “congressional initiatives” in the 2025 budget, former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan said in written testimony submitted to the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division Tuesday.

The anti-graft court is currently conducting a hearing on Estrada’s bail petition where Bonoan stands as a witness.

READ: Jinggoy declines to enter plea in graft, plunder cases

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Estrada’s lawyer Lawrence Arroyo objected to the inclusion of this amount in his written testimony, citing relevance.

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However, special prosecutor Reza Derayunan said: “It is not irrelevant since it is part of the congressional initiatives allocated to Senator Estrada for fiscal year 2025.”

But Arroyo said: “While they are part of the 2025 GAA [General Appropriations Act], they are not part of the allegation in the amended Information.”

Arroyo noted that the subject amount in Estrada’s case is only around P2 billion.

“There is an excess of P5 billion in the testimony,” Arroyo said.

Ultimately, Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses said the court would still allow the inclusion of the amount in Bonoan’s testimony. /jpv