Palace verifying Bonoan’s alleged fake data on flood control

Malacañang is still verifying allegations by Senator Panfilo Lacson that former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan deliberately submitted false data to the Office of the President regarding supposed ghost flood control projects.

Palace Press Officer and Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said on Thursday that the claims raised by Lacson are still under validation, and no details can be released until the verification process is completed.

“Sa ngayon po bini-verify pa rin po kung ano ‘yung mga nasabi po ni Sen. Lacson—so hindi pa po tayo makakapagbigay ng detalye at kailangan po munang ma-verify lahat po nito (As of now, we are still verifying what Sen. Lacson said—so we cannot give details yet on that because we need to verify all of this first),” Castro told reporters during a press briefing.

Asked whether there was an agreement between President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and resigned Cabinet officials, including Bonoan, to make themselves available should investigations be required, Castro said there was no such formal arrangement. 

She stressed, however, that the President wants all individuals involved to be investigated.

“Kasunduan, wala po tayong masasabing kasunduan, pero ang gusto ng Pangulo ma-imbestigahan ang lahat ng sangkot. Kung sila man po ay sangkot, kailangan po silang imbestigahan (Agreement, no such agreement, but the President wants those involved be investigated. If they are involved, they need to be investigated),” she said.

Castro also declined to comment on Bonoan’s reported commitment to return to the Philippines, amid reports that he remains abroad despite earlier assurances that he would be back by mid-December.

“I cannot speak for former Secretary Bonoan. Hindi ko po alam kung anong mga sinabi niya at kung anong pinangako niya. At kailangan lang po siya talagang makabalik sa Pilipinas (I don’t know what he said or promised. And he needs to go back in the Philippines),” she said.

Responding to concerns that other former officials implicated in the controversy may also be overseas, Castro said legal action can still be pursued even if they are outside the country.

“Kahit sila’y nasa ibang bansa, hahabulin pa rin sila ng batas ng Pilipinas. At kung kinakailangan silang sampahan ng kaso at kung may maipapakitang ebidensiya, mananatili po silang akusado kapag hindi po sila bumalik sa Pilipinas (Even if they go abroad, they will be still pursued by the Philippine law. And if there’s a need to file a case against them, and if there is evidence shown, they will remain accused until they return to the Philippines),” she added.

Lacson earlier claimed that the submission of erroneous data may have been intended to derail or discredit the government’s investigation into alleged ghost flood control projects. 

When asked whether Bonoan deliberately provided false information to the Office of the President, Castro said it would be premature to make such a conclusion.

“Mahirap pong i-generalize ‘yan. Dapat specific kung anong project yung sinasabi. May mga pagkakataon po mismo na may nadiskubre ang Pangulo na may ghost project, may mga anomalya sa flood control projects—at verified na po ‘yon. Pero kung very general po ang sinasabi ngayon, hindi ko po mako-confirm. Kailangan pa pong i-verify ang mga sinasabi ni Senator Lacson,” she said.

According to Lacson, incorrect grid coordinates submitted by Bonoan resulted in grossly inaccurate listings, including 421 supposed ghost projects that conflicted with flood control sites previously inspected and reported by the DPWH itself.

“Former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan deliberately submitted incorrect grid coordinates of thousands of flood control projects all over the country,” Lacson said. He added that the department is now scrambling to correct the records by cross-checking them with existing documents such as the Multi-Year Planning and Scheduling (MYPS) system and the Project and Contract Management Application (PCMA).

The senator said Bonoan’s actions suggest complicity in an alleged cover-up, despite the former secretary’s claim that he was not a “principal player” in the controversy.

“Even if he insists he is not a principal player, we can very clearly see his complicity in covering up the crime,” Lacson said.

Lacson also cited testimony by former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, who alleged that Bonoan received billions of pesos in kickbacks from infrastructure projects. He said he does not discount the possibility that Bonoan fed false data to weaken public confidence in the investigation.

“He is misleading the Palace to weaken or discredit the investigation into ghost flood control projects. If several projects in the Sumbong sa Pangulo website turn out to be false, people will think it is not reliable,” Lacson said.

He added that this could explain why Bonoan earlier disputed the existence of at least one alleged ghost flood control project in Mindoro.