The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division formally issued a release order Thursday for former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan from detention at the PNP General Hospital.

The development came after the anti-graft court resolved on Tuesday, 1 September, to grant the state prosecutor’s motion to amend its information that would exclude Bonoan from the plunder and graft charges filed against Senator Jinggoy Estrada.

In its resolution, the Fifth Division approved the oral motion of Atty. Stefanie Liz Ong who sought the court to issue a formal ruling regarding the status of the former public works secretary on the case.

With its decision, the commitment order against Bonoan was officially recalled while ordering Police Brigadier General Portia Manalad from the PNP General Hospital for the release.

While his likeness has been removed from the case in the Fifth Division, Bonoan still faces a separate graft charge with Estrada at the Sandiganbayan Second Division.

The court had denied a similar motion to exclude Bonoan from the Office of the Ombudsman but he has since posted a bail of P90,000 for the charges.

In previous interviews, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said that the reason for the former DPWH chiefs exclusion was for him to be utilized as a state witness for the flood control scandal.

Since being charged in June, he has testified in the case of malversation and graft against former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla concerning a P92.8 million anomalous flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan.

Remulla clarified in an interview with reporters during deliberations into their office’s proposed budget for 2027 that Bonoan was better classified as a “witness for the people” rather than a state witness.

The former public official served as the secretary of the Public Works agency during the time when anomalous practices were carried out in the department.

Bonoan submitted a formal resignation in 2025, months after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivered his “mahiya naman kayo” speech against corrupt lawmakers and officials that were misusing public funds.