MANILA — Former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan has been named a respondent in plunder charges related to alleged irregularities in flood control projects, the Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed on Monday, January 19.

DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said Bonoan “is a respondent in the case filed by the NBI for plunder, among other charges,” and that he is a co-respondent of Senator Jinggoy Estrada in the same complaint.

Martinez explained that the case “is not localized to a single project or locality” and involves allegations of acquiring ill-gotten wealth exceeding P50 million through multiple transactions connected to flood control projects. He added that there is currently no schedule for the preliminary investigation, which will be handled by a panel of prosecutors.

Bonoan returned to the Philippines on Sunday after more than two months abroad. He had left for the United States via Taiwan on November 11, 2025, to accompany his wife for a medical procedure and was initially expected back on December 17, 2025.

On Monday, Bonoan also appeared before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to respond to allegations of negligence and corruption tied to the multibillion-peso flood control scandal. During the hearing, senators confronted him with accusations from former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, who claimed that Bonoan facilitated budget insertions as part of a kickback scheme. Sen. Win Gatchalian said Bernardo’s testimony suggested that Bonoan allegedly received up to P2.25 billion in kickbacks.

Bonoan denied all allegations, stating, “I completely deny your honor. I don’t have any allocable amount,” noting he had not read Bernardo’s sworn affidavit.

Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, stressed that regardless of whether Bonoan personally benefited, the alleged anomalies occurred during his three-year tenure as DPWH secretary.

“How can a secretary let all of this happen? That is why we are all here in this situation,” Gatchalian said, citing ghost projects discovered in Bulacan and Davao Oriental and multiple testimonies implicating Bonoan.

Other individuals linked to the alleged flood control scheme also denied Bernardo’s claims, calling the former undersecretary’s allegations false.