A National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agent admitted Tuesday, 20 October, that investigators failed to establish a direct money trail linking contractors to alleged kickbacks received by Senator Jinggoy Estrada from government infrastructure projects.
Testifying before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division, NBI agent Ivan Samson acknowledged that investigators found no strong evidence directly connecting contractors to the alleged payments made through Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials.
Samson said the NBI did not subpoena the contractors during its investigation and that claims of contractors delivering kickbacks to DPWH officials were based on what he described as general knowledge.
He also acknowledged that investigators failed to establish prima facie evidence that DPWH engineers had collected kickbacks directly from contracting firms.
Despite these gaps, Samson maintained that contractors remained a possible source of the alleged P573 million in kickbacks prosecutors accused Estrada of receiving.
He said the NBI recommended plunder charges after evaluating the statements of former DPWH officials, including Roberto Bernardo and Henry Alcantara, alongside other evidence gathered during the investigation.
Samson insisted that the totality of evidence established a prima facie case against Estrada and his co-accused, with a reasonable certainty of conviction.
Tuesday's proceedings marked Estrada's first bail hearing in the plunder case.
The senator surrendered to authorities on 1 June and has since been detained at the New Quezon City Jail's Male Dormitory. This is the third time he has faced plunder charges.
Also accused are DPWH engineers Denryl Cortuna, Manny Bulusan and Arturo Gonzales Jr.
The Sandiganbayan is scheduled to resume the bail hearing on 27 October, when prosecutors intend to present former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan as a witness.
Bonoan was initially included in the plunder case but was subsequently excluded after prosecutors sought to amend the charges.
He remains accused of graft alongside Estrada before the Sandiganbayan Second Division, which denied a similar prosecution motion.
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