Bonoan, whistleblowers slate Jinggoy face-off

Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan and other known “whistleblowers” are expected to testify in the plunder case against Senator Jinggoy Estrada at the Sandiganbayan.

The announcement came during the pre-trial proceedings of Estrada’s case at the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division on Wednesday, when the court set hearings on the senator’s petition for bail from 20 October to 12 November.

The prosecution said it planned to present 21 witnesses, including alleged whistleblowers and officials from various DPWH district engineering offices, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the Senate.

However, it was not clear whether Bonoan would be presented during the bail hearings or as part of the main trial.

Bonoan was previously among the accused but was later excluded from the charges after prosecutors filed a motion to amend their case information to use the former Public Works secretary as a witness on flood control.

Even after his exclusion from plunder, Bonoan remains charged with graft alongside Estrada and other DPWH officials at the Sandiganbayan Second Division, as the court denied a similar motion by prosecutors.

The case against Estrada alleges that he received P573 million in infrastructure kickbacks from the DPWH in 2025 through “systematic deliveries.”

The Office of the Ombudsman said the senator helped insert projects into the DPWH infrastructure portfolio in 2025 in exchange for a predetermined commission fee.

It was the third time that Estrada was charged with plunder.