MANILA (Bloomberg): The Philippines’ anti-graft watchdog charged Senator Jinggoy Estrada with plunder and graft for allegedly receiving millions of pesos in an infrastructure corruption scheme that slowed economic growth and outraged the public.
The Office of the Ombudsman filed on Thursday the charges against Estrada at the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court, which can order his arrest. He is the highest-ranking public official to be sued for allegedly siphoning off funds intended for flood infrastructure in the typhoon-prone nation.
Over 573 million pesos ($9.3 million) in "illicit payouts” were "systematically delivered” to Estrada, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said at a livestreamed briefing.
"Our evaluation shows that substantial public funds were deliberately funneled into designated infrastructure projects in exchange for pre-determined commission fees or kickbacks,” Clavano said.
Estrada didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. He earlier denied involvement in the scheme, saying that the accusations against him were "outright lies.” He also recently said he’s ready to face any charges, which he described as "the price that I have to pay for standing on my own principles.”
Former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan was charged with plunder and graft along with Estrada. The ex-Cabinet official also didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
The charges were lodged against Estrada at a time when he and senators aligned with Vice President Sara Duterte are holding on to a thin majority at the upper chamber. Any arrest could shift power in the Senate, where Duterte is set to face an impeachment trial.
Estrada earlier said he doesn’t favor Duterte’s impeachment. If arrested, he won’t be able to participate as a judge in the vice president’s trial, although the odds are already in favor of Duterte’s acquittal, given the two-thirds hurdle needed for a conviction.
Estrada was previously embroiled in another alleged corruption scheme involving lawmakers’ discretionary funds, but was acquitted of plunder charges.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is under pressure to hold politicians accountable for the massive corruption scandal, after the issue hit his popularity and soured investment sentiment towards the Philippines.
Several other personalities, including former lawmakers, were earlier charged over the alleged scheme.
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