Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said that their office had reached an agreement with former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan to have him as a state witness in the numerous cases linked to the multibillion peso flood control scandal.

Remulla mentioned that they had filed a motion to exclude at the Sandiganbayan for the dismissal of Bonoan’s graft and plunder raps being handled by the Second and Fifth Divisions of the court.

“We have a standing agreement, we filed already a motion to discharge him as an accused so that he can be a witness for the prosecution,” he said.

“The knowledge that he has about the whole institution is something very important to us to be able to prove other cases…we will be benefitting from his testimony with regards to so many of the cases we are filing,” he added.

The former Public Works secretary was implicated in the flood control mess along with Senator Jinggoy Estrada over the latter’s supposed receipt of P573-million in kickbacks from the various infrastructure projects of the DPWH in 2025 through a case filed at the Sandiganbayan in May.

Bonoan only appeared in one of the hearings conducted for the cases as he was hospitalized due to various medical conditions that he was nursing, particularly symptoms of his hypertension and diabetes.

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano confirmed that the former government official has remained confined at the PNP General Hospital by virtue of an approved motion for hospital arrest last 5 June.

Based on the ruling of the Supreme Court on the case of Perez and Apostol vs. Sandiganbayan, it was justified that the Ombudsman has the ability to amend its case information particularly if an arraignment has not been conducted.

In the case that an accused has been arraigned, the Ombudsman is obligated to submit a formal Motion to Amend the Information with the Sandiganbayan. Under both cases, the amendments must still be approved by the anti-graft court.

Bonoan served as the chief of the DPWH from 2022 to 2025 before stepping down on 1 September of last year amid the intensified investigations into the flood control scandal.

He was also previously tagged as a key personality that was set to face plunder complaints under the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its separate probe that it had conducted.

Notably, the arraignment of Bonoan under the Fifth Division which presides over a case of plunder and graft was scheduled for 30 June as there were pending motions from both the prosecution and defense that needed to be resolved.