MANILA — Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Wednesday questioned former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan’s claim that he was unaware of corruption behind substandard and ghost flood control projects.

Lacson said Bonoan, who retired from the DPWH in 2010 after decades of service and rising from the ranks, should have known about the anomalies.

“For him to say that he did not monitor these, there are only two implications — either he is in on the corruption, or he is incompetent,” Lacson told reporters.

Bonoan, during Tuesday’s Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, said he was surprised at the reported irregularities in DPWH projects, particularly in the Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office.

Drawing from his own experience as a former chief of the Philippine National Police, Lacson said those who rise from the ranks should have a deep understanding of what happens on the ground.

“As someone who rose from the ranks, you should have experience in the field and you should know the shenanigans being committed there,” he said.

According to Lacson, corrupt practices such as rigging, ghost projects, and manufacturing of documents have long existed in the DPWH, though they are only being exposed now.