In May, Estrada filed a motion to dismiss the graft cases, as he argued that these were deemed “absorbed” by the plunder case. Court junks Jinggoy’s plea to drop graft rapsFOR LACK of merit, the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division denied former senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada’s plea to dismiss 11 counts of graft filed against him and subsume these under a separate plunder case in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel scam. Estrada is detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center over the graft charges and the P183-million plunder case he is facing in connection with the PDAF scam. “These two different issues involve distinct elements and facts, punishable under two different statutes,” it said in a seven-page resolution, adding that each of the 11 graft charges involves a distinct transaction and different sets of co-accused. But the court agreed with the prosecution that the fact that the charges arose from the same acts did not justify Estrada’s argument of absorption.

Source: Manila Times July 29, 2016 12:45 UTC