Former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo (file photo, left) and Senator Jinggoy Estrada (right). (Pictures from NIÑO JESUS ORBERTA )
MANILA, Philippines — State witness and former Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo on Wednesday called Sen. Jinggoy Estrada a “friend.”
He uttered this description when he testified during the senator’s bail hearing for a plunder case before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division.
Bernardo made this remark as Estrada attended for the first time his bail hearing over a case stemming from alleged kickbacks worth P573 million in the 2025 budget.
Estrada’s counsel Lawrence Arroyo confronted Bernardo about the former undersecretary’s previous affidavits where he did not mention the senator.
Estrada, in an ambush interview when the court declared a break, said he is satisfied with the cross examination by his lawyer.
“His statements are full of inconsistencies,” Estrada said, referring to Bernardo.
Bernardo confirmed that he did not first name Estrada in his affidavit dated Sept. 25, 2025, and the senator was only mentioned in the subsequent affidavit on Nov. 10, 2025.
According to Bernardo, he said he was still looking for “solid evidence that I can prove,” which is why Estrada was not mentioned in the September affidavit.
“Although I have in mind already that he is a proponent,” Bernardo said of Estrada.
“Ang hirap ipahamak ng kaibigan. Kailangan may solid evidence po ako (It’s hard to put a friend in danger. I need to have a solid evidence),” the former public works and highways official explained.
Estrada, in response, said in the ambush interview: “Ang dami nga nyang pinahamak eh. (He really put so many people in danger.)”
However, Estrada did not respond when asked if he considered Bernardo a friend.
In his testimony on Tuesday before the Fifth Division, former Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan said he had “observed” the closeness of Bernardo and Estrada.
Furthermore, Bonoan said that the senator’s father, former Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada, had requested if Bernardo could be the officer-in-charge of the city engineering office.
Bonoan further told the court that it was Bernardo who informed him of Estrada’s reported P1 billion request for the so-called “leadership funds.”
According to Bonoan, the leadership fund first came into existence in the 2025 budget to address the budget cuts made by the Congress in the DPWH’s priority projects.
The projects included flood control constructions, national roads and basic rural infrastructure.
Bernardo said it was Estrada “who asked for my help” to relay his request for funds to Bonoan.
Bernardo also said he had asked Estrada if an alleged 25 percent “commitment” or kickback would be “okay,” and the witness had said the senator was said to have responded in the affirmative.