Lacson tags Bonoan

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson didn’t hold back on Tuesday as he drew a direct line between former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan and a contractor at the heart of Bulacan’s flood control controversy.

In a privilege speech at the Senate, Lacson revealed Bonoan’s business ties to Candaba, Pampanga Mayor Rene Maglanque, who previously headed Globalcrete Builders — the company that bagged P2.195 billion worth of flood control projects from 2018 to 2024, many of them in Bulacan.

Maglanque also heads MBB Global Properties Corporation, owner of the nearly P1-billion Wyndham Garden Hotel in Clark, Pampanga.

But the connection didn’t stop there.

According to a 2024 General Information Sheet of MBB Global Properties, the company’s executives included Macy Monique Maglanque as president, Sunshine M. Bernardo as corporate secretary, and Fatima Gay B. (Bonoan) de la Cruz as treasurer—linking Bonoan’s family directly to the firm.

“Maglanque, Bernardo, Bonoan—MBB,” Lacson said. “Coincidentally, these are the same names cropping up in the flood control scandal: Candaba Mayor Rene Maglanque, DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, and former Secretary Manuel Bonoan. Just connect the dots.”

Lacson also questioned Bonoan’s insistence that the ghost flood control project discovered in Bulacan by President Marcos was “an isolated case.”

“It’s no wonder he kept saying that,” Lacson said. “He probably didn’t want Globalcrete to be further exposed in the investigation.”

Ending his speech, Lacson urged the Department of Public Works and Highways to include Bonoan, Maglanque, and other connected individuals in any formal charges tied to the anomalous projects, emphasizing that accountability must include those with both direct and indirect links.

La Union citizens flag P9-B projects

Concerned citizens in La Union are urging Malacañang and the DPWH to investigate what they say are substandard flood control projects worth billions of pesos.

Documents submitted to the DAILY TRIBUNE and uploaded to the government’s “Sumbong sa Pangulo” website show that a handful of construction firms cornered major contracts in at least 10 towns between 2022 and 2024, totaling nearly ₱9 billion.