Former Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan is slowly recovering after being hospitalized following his arrest in connection with graft and plunder cases linked to the alleged flood control project corruption scandal, the Philippine National Police said Tuesday.
PNP Health Service Director Brig. Gen. Portia Manalad said Bonoan was admitted to the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame on Monday after experiencing a spike in blood pressure.
"He was admitted yesterday due to high blood pressure. He was given anti-hypertensive medication. Slowly improving ang kanyang condition," Manalad said in a message to reporters.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Bonoan registered a blood pressure reading of 192/100 after being processed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, prompting authorities to bring him to the hospital for medical attention.
Remulla said Bonoan remains under tight security and that access to him is being restricted.
Bonoan, along with Jinggoy Estrada and former Department of Public Works and Highways officials Denryl Caesar Cortuna, Manny Bulusan and Arturo Gonzales, is in government custody after the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division issued arrest warrants in a non-bailable plunder case related to alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
Meanwhile, PNP chief Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. commended the CIDG for the peaceful implementation of the arrest warrants.
Nartatez said the operation demonstrated that compliance with lawful orders remains the safest course of action and helped avoid unnecessary confrontation while preserving the integrity of the legal process.
Except for Bonoan, who remains under medical care, the accused have already been transferred to the New Quezon City Jail Dormitory in Payatas, Quezon City.
"The PNP operates strictly on legal frameworks, meaning no individual is above the law, regardless of rank or title. We remain focused on our mandate of locating and arresting all those in the fugitives list," Nartatez said.