The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division has dropped the plunder and graft charges against former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, removing him as an accused in two cases linked to an alleged P573-million kickback scheme.
‘He (Bonoan) is no longer an accused in the two cases before the Fifth [Division],’ a member of the prosecution team told the Inquirer on Tuesday.
Another source confirmed the development.
Also accused in those cases are Sen. Jose ‘Jinggoy’ Estrada, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) district engineers Manny Bulusan and Arturo Gonzales Jr., and assistant district engineer Denryl Caesar Cortuna.
The source from the prosecution said the other accused may be expected to file a motion for reconsideration.
The latest Sandiganbayan action came after the Office of the Ombudsman pursued efforts beginning in July to turn Bonoan into a state witness for other cases stemming from alleged multibillion-peso corruption involving flood control projects.
Flood control probe
Bonoan resigned as DPWH secretary in September 2025, shortly after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered an investigation into the alleged anomalies.
In November 2025, the now-defunct Independent Commission for Infrastructure found Bonoan administratively liable over flood control projects in Bulacan province that were supposedly never built.
The Department of Justice said in January that Bonoan would also face a criminal case for plunder.
Bonoan earlier testified before the anti-graft court in a separate case against former Sen. Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr. over a P76.91-million flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan, that prosecutors said proved ‘nonexistent.’
At one point in his testimony, Bonoan said ‘all senators’ who were incumbent in 2024 availed themselves of a ‘leadership fund’ allotted by the DPWH under the 2025 budget.