MANILA—The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division has granted the prosecution’s motion to discharge former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan as a co-accused of Senator Jinggoy Estrada in the plunder and graft cases involving an alleged flood control kickback scheme.

Presiding Justice Geraldine Econg confirmed the ruling late Tuesday, saying the Fifth Division had agreed to drop the charges against Bonoan.

Voting 2-1, the division ruled that determining which accused may be used as a state witness falls within the Ombudsman’s “prosecutorial discretion,” according to a copy of the decision exclusively obtained by GMA News.

“The decision to move for the discharge of an accused is part of the Ombudsman’s prosecutorial discretion of who should be used as a state witness, to bolster the successful prosecution of criminal offenses,” the Sandiganbayan said.

The anti-graft court also said the Ombudsman is empowered under the law to grant immunity to a state witness.

With the charges against him dropped, Bonoan will be released, while the court also recalled the warrant of arrest and hold departure order issued against the former DPWH chief.

The Ombudsman had asked the Sandiganbayan in June to exclude Bonoan from the cases after he expressed willingness to cooperate with the agency. It said his testimony was necessary to uncover the alleged system behind the kickbacks from anomalous flood control projects.

“His cooperation was indispensable to uncover the architecture that may have set the entire machinery in motion,” the Ombudsman said in its June 11, 2026 resolution.

Bonoan was among Estrada’s co-accused, along with three others, in charges filed by the Ombudsman in May over an alleged conspiracy to collect more than P500 million in kickbacks from flood control projects.

The prosecution sought Bonoan’s discharge so he could testify as a state witness in other flood control cases, including the master case alleging a scheme to defraud the national government involving former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Bonoan has also testified in the malversation and graft cases of former Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., where he revealed the so-called Leadership Fund, an ad-hoc allocation for priority projects of members of the Senate.

Estrada’s counsel, Atty. Laurence Arroyo, had opposed the prosecution’s motion, arguing that removing Bonoan as a co-accused would prejudice the senator’s rights and fundamentally alter the prosecution’s theory of conspiracy.

The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division’s ruling comes after the court’s Second Division earlier rejected a similar prosecution motion involving Bonoan in a separate graft case.

In a resolution promulgated Aug. 3, the Second Division said the proposed amendment could prejudice Estrada because it would alter the theory of criminal liability and unfairly restrict the defenses available to him, who had already entered a plea based on the original allegations.

Estrada and Bonoan have yet to be arraigned by the Fifth Division due to pending motions. Estrada’s arraignment, however, has been scheduled for Sept. 3.

Bonoan had previously posted bail for his graft case before the Second Division.

Estrada said he respects the Fifth Division’s ruling but will pursue remedies available under the law.

“While I respect the decision of the Sandiganbayan, I wish to emphasize that there remain legal remedies available to me under our judicial system, which my legal team will carefully study and pursue at the appropriate time,” he said.

“This development does not end my legal recourse, and I will continue to place my trust in due process and the rule of law,” Estrada said.

“My faith in our judicial system remains firm. I will continue to stand by the truth and pursue every lawful means available to protect my rights and clear my name and honor,” he added.