Bonoan jailbird no more
The court recalled Bonoan’s commitment order and directed Police Brig. Gen. Portia Manalad of the PNP General Hospital to release him.
The court recalled Bonoan’s commitment order and directed Police Brig. Gen. Portia Manalad of the PNP General Hospital to release him.
The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division on Thursday formally issued an order releasing former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan from detention at the PNP General Hospital.
The order followed the court’s 1 September resolution granting the state prosecutor’s motion to amend the information and exclude Bonoan from the plunder and graft charges filed against Senator Jinggoy Estrada.
In the resolution, the court granted the oral motion of Atty. Stefanie Liz Ong, who asked the court to formally clarify Bonoan’s status in the case.
The court recalled Bonoan’s commitment order and directed Police Brig. Gen. Portia Manalad of the PNP General Hospital to release him.
Bonoan’s exclusion from the Fifth Division case does not end his legal troubles. He still faces a separate graft charge with Estrada before the Sandiganbayan Second Division.
The Second Division had denied a similar motion to exclude Bonoan from the charges filed by the Office of the Ombudsman, but he has since posted P90,000 bail.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said Bonoan’s exclusion from the Fifth Division case would allow him to be used as a government witness in the flood-control scandal.
Since being charged in June, Bonoan has testified in the malversation and graft case against former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. involving an alleged P92.8-million anomalous flood-control project in Pandi, Bulacan.
During the Senate’s deliberations on the Ombudsman’s proposed 2027 budget, Remulla clarified that Bonoan was better described as a “witness for the people” rather than a state witness.
Bonoan served as DPWH secretary when the alleged anomalous practices occurred in the agency. He resigned in 2025, months after Marcos delivered his “mahiya naman kayo” speech criticizing lawmakers and officials accused of misusing public funds.
