Pre-trial of Plunder Case vs. Sen. Estrada Reset Anew to Sept. 12

The pre-trial proceeding of the plunder case against Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada was again rescheduled to Sept. 12, 2016.

State Prosecutor Ma. Christina Marallag-Batacan on Monday said that there were still many documents which they had not yet secured from the Commission on Audit (COA).

Sandiganbayan Fifth Division Chair Associate Justice Rolando Jurado also ordered the Clerk of Court to issue a subpoena to the COA to immediately secure the documents they needed.

Estrada, through his legal counsel Atty. Paul Mar Arias, said that the prosecution should have a final list of witnesses and evidence such that it had been two years already since the case was filed by the Office of the Ombudsman (Ombudsman) before the Sandiganbayan.

Estrada has been charged for the “non-bailable” offense of plunder for allegedly getting Php 183 million “kickbacks” from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in 2004 to 2012 channeled through a bogus non-government organization (NGO) of businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.

This was the fourth time that the pre-trial of Estrada in the plunder and graft cases was deferred because the prosecutor has not yet finished the “markings” of the pieces of evidence. (PNA) RMA/PTR