Sandiganbayan justices pull out from Jinggoy’s pork case

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada (Facebook photo)

MANILA – Three Sandiganbayan justices inhibited themselves from Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s plunder case.

Fifth Division Associate Justices Roland Jurado, Alexander Gesmundo, and Maria Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta submitted a letter to the anti-grant court’s Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang. The said justices cited “personal reasons” for deciding to back out from the plunder case.

Jurado was the assigned chairperson of the division tasked to deal with the plunder cases of Estrada and his involvement in misusing his Priority Development Assistance Fund.

“May we request for our recusal in the above-indicated criminal cases for personal reasons,” the magistrates wrote in their letter to Tang.

Estrada is facing 10 counts of graft and plunder.

Once the request was approved, the cases will be transferred to another division for due process.