MANILA — The Sandiganbayan on Monday sought additional documents before deciding on declaring an information technology practitioner as an "expert witness" for the defense of former senator Jinggoy Estrada in his plunder case in connection with the alleged pork barrel scam.

IT expert Dexter Laggui was supposed to counter the prosecution's expert witness, an agent from the National Bureau of Investigation who testified on the integrity of computer files in the hard drive of whistleblower Benhur Luy.

Laggui told the Sandiganbayan 5th Division that a Makati recently declared him as an expert witness in a separate case. Division Chairperson Rafael Lagos ordered the defense to produce a transcript of the lower court's stenographic notes.

The court also directed Laggui to submit his certifications on computer forensics and additional proof that he helped create the justice department's manual on cybercrime.

“Show your documents,” Lagos told defense lawyer Noel Malaya.

Estrada, who has been out on bail since September 2017, is accused of pocketing P183 million in kickbacks from fake projects, purportedly with help from businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, Luy's cousin and the alleged scam mastermind.

The former lawmaker is also facing 11 separate counts of graft for the alleged misuse of P278 million of his Priority Development Assistance Fund.

Estrada failed to win back a Senate seat in last year's midterm elections, which also saw the defeat of other members of his clan, including his father former Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and half-brother former Sen. JV Ejercito.

Report from Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN News