Ex-DPWH Sec. Bonoan key to PhilHealth, PDIC-funded flood control projects — Leviste
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Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) had a hand in the unexplained allocation of billions of pesos from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) in 2024.
"It was the DPWH, not Congress, that chose the P153-billion DPWH projects that were funded by PhilHealth and PDIC, which were mostly for flood control," Leviste said in a social media post.
"Former Sec. Manuel Bonoan can answer why the funds from PhilHealth and PDIC were allocated to flood control and how the projects and contractors were selected," he added.
Through a series of posts, Leviste shared records, receipts, and what he claimed were documents related to numerous projects allegedly funded through unprogrammed appropriations.
The lawmaker also posted copies of Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs), which he said were dated between October and December 2024, noting that they almost perfectly coincided with the transfer of P167 billion from the two state-run agencies to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Based on the documents, the funds were distributed across various regions for projects such as road dikes, drainage systems, footbridges, road construction, and other rehabilitation efforts.
Leviste has also repeatedly called for Bonoan to testify, saying he had long pushed for the former Public Works secretary to become a state witness in investigations into the alleged multibillion-peso flood control scandal.
That call was partially realized on June 29, when Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced during a press conference that Bonoan would serve as one of the office's key resource persons to provide information from someone who had overseen the program.
In a later briefing, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said Bonoan had been called as a witness in the case against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, whom investigators view as the alleged "mastermind" behind the controversy.
Leviste, meanwhile, said he would continue releasing his own findings on the alleged flood control scandal through his Facebook page, even as public attention shifts to the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
"Starting Monday, the media will be focused on the impeachment trial. However, the flood control issue must not be forgotten. Allow me to use my FB page for a couple of days to disclose everything that is unreported," he said.
