Notable Figures Defended by Estelito Mendoza in Court
The passing of Philippine National Bank Director Estelito Mendoza was confirmed through a PSE Disclosure released on March 26, 2025. He was 95 years old. It was also noted in the PSE Disclosure Form 4-8 - Change in Directors and/or Officers that Mendoza had been bank director since January 1, 2009.
Who was Estelito Mendoza?
Filipino lawyer Estelito Mendoza had a seven-decade career in law, public service, and foreign affairs.
He graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1952 and from Harvard Law School with a Master of Laws degree in 1954. He was conferred with a Doctor of Laws (LLD) (honoris causa) by Central Colleges of the Philippines in 1975; Hanyang University in Seoul, Korea, in 1978; University of Manila in 1985; Angeles University Foundation in 1997; and University of the East in 2004.
Mendoza served as Solicitor General of the Philippines from 1982 to 1986, under the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. As SolGen, he defended the validity of the 1973 Constitution of the Philippines in the Ratification Cases.
He was also the Chairman of the United Nations General Assembly Legal Committee in 1976, in office as Mambabatas Pambansa of Region III from 1978 to 1980, Governor of Pampanga from 1980 to 1984 and again from 1985 to 1986, and Minister of Justice from 1984 to 1986. In 1987, he returned to private practice and founded the law firm Estelito P. Mendoza and Associates.
As a formidable defense lawyer, Mendoza has been a pivotal figure in representing some of the most prominent political personalities in the Philippines.
Notable Figures Represented by Estelito Mendoza
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Mendoza, in July 2016, got Gloria Macapagal Arroyo acquitted of the plunder charge filed against her in relation to the alleged misuse of P366 million in Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) intelligence funds from 2008 to 2010.
The case was filed by the Ombudsman in July 2012; then, the Sandiganbayan issued a warrant of arrest for the former president in October of the same year. In June 2013, while still in hospital arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, Arroyo was sworn into office as a reelected Pampanga representative.
In October 2015, Mendoza entered the picture as Arroyo's new lawyer. The Supreme Court granted their appeal to temporarily stop the plunder trial. On July 19, 2016, the Supreme Court voted 11-4 to acquit Arroyo.
Bong Revilla
Bong Revilla, incumbent Senator of the Philippines, was likewise acquitted of plunder and released from detention on December 7, 2018. Mendoza represented him in the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan.
Revilla was allegedly involved in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam, along with Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Janet Lim-Napoles, after the 2013 elections. This was initially flagged by the Commission on Audit following a two-year investigation, then by the National Bureau of Investigation, which filed a plunder case. The Office of the Ombudsman found probable cause to indict the four and filed plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan in June 2014. A warrant of arrest was issued against Revilla, and he was detained at Camp Crame. The trial began in June 2017.
"The act of repeatedly giving and receiving money is not plunder. If they want to file another offense, they can file simple bribery, not plunder," Mendoza was quoted as saying on February 9, 2017, at the Sandiganbayan.
On December 7, 2018, the Sandiganbayan acquitted Revilla of plunder in the PDAF scam. He still faced charges for 16 counts of graft, and he's out on bail for P480,000. Revilla was cleared of these charges on July 1, 2021.
Juan Ponce Enrile
Juan Ponce Enrile, on October 4, 2024, was acquitted in the plunder case filed against him and several others in connection with the alleged misuse of his pork barrel or PDAF.
This is the same case as Revilla, Napoles, and Estrada, for which the Ombudsman filed plunder and graft charges against in June 2014. Enrile, as well as his chief of staff Jessica "Gigi" Reyes, was arrested upon order of the Sandiganbayan. He asked to be in hospital arrest at the Philippine National Police General Hospital. In August 2015, Enrile was granted bail by the Supreme Court. His counsel, Mendoza, presented two factors: old age and voluntary surrender. Enrile posted a P1.4-million bail bond before the Sandiganbayan.
Joseph Estrada
Mendoza served as Joseph Estrada's lead counsel during the former president's impeachment trial. The court was formed on November 20, 2000, with Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. as presiding officer, and the trial began on December 7, 2000. However, it culminated in EDSA II in January 2001, which ultimately sworn in Arroyo as president.
Likewise, Mendoza led the defense panel in People of the Philippines v. Joseph Estrada, et al., 26558 Sandiganbayan, September 12, 2007. The six-year trial involved two charges: one for plunder and another for perjury, where the plunder case consisted of four charges: acceptance of jueteng proceeds, misappropriation of excise taxes from tobacco, receiving commission from a real estate firm, and owning P3.2 billion pesos in a bank account under the name "Jose Velarde." He was acquitted of perjury, but was found guilty of plunder. Estrada was sentenced to reclusión perpetua, but was granted executive clemency by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in October 2007.
Jaime Dichaves
Businessman Jaime Dichaves, who was co-accused in Estrada's plunder case and who had previously confessed to owning the controversial "Jose Velarde" bank account, was cleared by Sandiganbayan on October 23, 2018.
The anti-graft court did not allow the prosecution to submit the same evidence in the Estrada trial, which got the former president convicted of plunder. The Sandiganbayan Fourth Division decision read: "For failure of the prosecution to present additional evidence to support the existence of probable cause, the case against accused Jaime C. Dichaves is hereby dismissed."
Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
In 2021, Mendoza was part of the legal team of then-presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, who was facing disqualification cases filed before the Commission on Elections.
In May 2022, the then-presumptive president also faced petitions presented by human rights groups and Martial Law survivors to the Supreme Court seeking the issuance of a temporary restraining order against the Senate and the House of Representatives from canvassing the votes.
In an interview, Mendoza said: "The petitioners will then have to decide whether to abide and stick by the petition as filed by the SC or whether the scenario has changed and then therefore, what they should be filing is an election protest before the Supreme Court, either a quo warranto or an ordinary election protest."
Philippine Airlines
In 2018, Mendoza represented Philippine Airlines (PAL) in a 20-year-old case versus the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP).
The case started all the way on June 15, 1998, when PAL retrenched 5,000 employees as a cost-cutting measure following the 1997 Asian financial crisis. FASAP filed a complaint against PAL for illegal retrenchment at the National Labor Relations Commission, which ruled in favor of FASAP. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court (Third Division), which also ruled in favor of FASAP and ordered PAL to reinstate retrenched employees in 2008. This decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court (Special Third Division) with finality in 2009, following PAL's motion for reconsideration. PAL, through a motion for leave, asked permission to appeal both decisions, which was granted.
In 2011, Mendoza wrote a letter to the Supreme Court, asking for updates on PAL's motion for reconsideration. The case was eventually reopened. FASAP fought but lost when the SC voted 7-2 to side with PAL.
Sara Duterte
In the Vice President's consolidated response to three pending cases challenging the constitutionality of her confidential funds in 2022, Mendoza's name appeared as legal counsel. It was dated May 9, 2024, and commented on the petitions served by Christian S. Monsod, Atty. Howard S. Calleja, and ACT Teachers Party List.
As of writing, Congress noted a growing list of allegedly questionable recipients of confidential funds from the Department of Education, which Duterte headed from June 2022 to July 19, 2024. Among the names found were: "Amoy Liu," "Fernan Amuy," "Joug de Asim," "Jay Kamote," "Miggy Mango," "Dodong Alcala," "Dodong Bina," "Dodong Bunal," "Dodong Darong," "Dodong Barok," and so on. The names were from the acknowledgment receipts submitted by the OVP and DepEd to the Commission on Audit.
