Senator Estrada allegedly sought an extra P1 billion for Senate leadership fund
Former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan testified that Senator Jinggoy Estrada, via Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, asked to add P1 billion in projects to the 2025 budget.
In a Sandiganbayan Fifth Division hearing on Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s bail petition, former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan disclosed that a P1 billion project list was submitted to him by Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo. The first half, P500 million, was recommended for inclusion in the National Expenditure Program, while Bernardo later asked for a matching P500 million, referencing Estrada’s position as Senate President Pro Tempore.
Bonoan affirmed that the senator did not personally deliver the request and that the list bore no Estrada signature. He explained that the total sum would be drawn from the Senate leadership fund, an ad-hoc budget item without written rules. The testimony occurred amid a P573-million plunder case against Estrada.
Why it matters
It reveals possible misuse of Senate leadership funds and raises questions about budget transparency.
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