Jinggoy’s graft case finally moves to trial

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON

The graft case filed against former Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada will finally head to trial in September, more than three years after he was detained over the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division terminated pretrial proceedings on Estrada’s case on Monday and set the start of the graft trial to Sept. 4. Hearings will be held every other Monday afterward.

Estrada did not attend the hearing after undergoing therapy for shoulder pains, his lawyer Paul Mar Arias told the court. Alleged pork scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles was present but did not grant reporters an interview.

Estrada and Napoles—along with the senator’s deputy chief of staff Pauline Therese Mary Labayen, Napoles aide John Raymund de Asis, former Budget Undersecretary Mario Relampagos, and staffers Rosario Nuñez, Lalaine Paule and Marilou Bare—were charged with 11 counts of violating Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Also charged with varying counts of graft were several officers of state corporations National Agribusiness Corp., National Likelihood Development Corp. and Technology Resource Center.

The graft defendants were accused of misusing a total of P231,654,000 by tapping two unqualified Napoles-linked foundations as partners for projects funded by proceeds from Estrada’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or pork barrel, from 2008 to 2010.

Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc. and Social Development Program for Farmers Foundation Inc., were each allotted P156.244 million and P75.41 million, respectively, despite the alleged lack of public bidding.

Estrada, Labayen, Napoles and De Asis were also charged with plunder over the senator’s alleged receipt of P183.8 million in kickbacks in exchange for diverting his PDAF to the Napoles-linked nongovernment organizations. Trial for the said case is set to begin on June 19, to be held every Monday. —VINCE F. NONATO