Bonoan faces calls to resign after admitting ‘ghost’ flood projects

Intense pressure continues to mount on Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan on Thursday following his admission of “ghost” flood control projects under his watch.

In a Senate hearing earlier this week, Bonoan did not rule out the possibility that there are indeed flood control projects that were marked completed but non-existent, confirming that his office received information about these in the towns of Calumpit, Malolos, and Hagonoy in Bulacan. 

Bonoan identified Wawao Builders as the contractor of the projects in question, bagging a whopping P5.97 billion in contracts for 85 projects in Bulacan alone. 

Wawao is included in President Marcos Jr.’s list of top 15 contractors that cornered approximately P100 billion or 20 percent of almost 10,000 flood control projects from July 2022 to May this year. Wawao accounted for P9 billion worth of contracts nationwide. 

Kamanggagawa Rep. Elijah San Fernando asserted that this “massive blunder” warrants Bonoan’s “immediate resignation” from the DPWH, suggesting that the secretary may have a hand in the scheme to defraud the government of billions of pesos. 

“These contractors are getting billions in projects with almost no capacity on paper. Who is their protector? And how did it slip under the DPWH?” the lawmaker asked. “Secretary Bonoan is the head of the agency that is currently plagued by corruption. There’s no way he won’t be held responsible for this.” 

Earlier, Bonoan expressed willingness to temporarily depart his post “if the President tells me to do so.”

Bulacan, tagged as the “most notorious” in the anomalies involving flood control, received the biggest chunk of funds allocated for Central Luzon, with a whopping P44 billion, and is now being subject to a fraud audit. 

Marcos, earlier this week, inspected the supposed P55-million river wall project in Barangay Piel, Baliuag, Bulacan, only to find out it was a “ghost” or non-existent.

State auditors had already retrieved key documents from the district engineering office of DPWH in Malolos, Bulacan, which were deemed pivotal in the investigation.

Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon strongly believes that resident auditors are involved in the anomalies alongside erring DPWH district engineers since the approval of the flood control projects is subject to their approval. 

“They all had a hand in that, and may be sued,” Ridon said in an interview. 

The DPWH has an ongoing investigation into the flood control projects, though critics argued that the Commission on Audit must lead the probe, given that the agency itself stands accused of being deeply involved in the very anomalies under scrutiny. 

Over the years, the government has poured trillions of pesos into flood control projects under the DPWH. The Marcos administration has spent over P500 billion since the start of the President’s term in July 2022.

Still, the agency has failed to resolve the country’s flooding woes, pointing to climate change as a major factor.