MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Jinggoy Estrada on Tuesday disputed former Public Works secretary Manuel Bonoan’s claim that more than P7 billion in "congressional initiatives" were inserted into the 2025 national budget, insisting that no documents linked him to alleged insertions involving the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Estrada pointed to the Senate’s Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office (LBRMO), which told the Office of the Ombudsman in March that it found no legislative records or official documents showing that he had made such amendments.
“The official records of the Senate, particularly those of the Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office (LBRMO), will attest to this,” Estrada said in a statement, reiterating his denial of the allegations.
In its letter to the Ombudsman, the LBRMO stated that “there are no legislative records or official documents indicating any official insertions or amendments made by a senator, specifically Senator Jinggoy Estrada, in the 2025 (national budget) related to the DPWH.”
Estrada issued the statement after Bonoan testified before the Sandiganbayan on Tuesday, claiming that about P7.4 billion in congressional initiatives had been inserted into the 2025 budget.
The senator said his position had been consistent and cited a privilege speech by Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who also echoed the LBRMO’s finding that no such insertions were made.
“The General Appropriations Act is not the work of any single lawmaker. It is the product of both Houses of Congress, approved by the President — all in accordance with the constitutional process," he said.
