Update on Former DPWH Chief Manuel Bonoan amid the Flood Control Mess
FORMER DPWH CHIEF
– Ex-Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan arrived in the Philippines ahead of his promised return date to the country.
The DPWH is at the center of controversy over the supposed multi-billion corruption in the government through the flood control projects. Thousands of Filipinos went out in the streets to protest against corruption.
Photo Courtesy of PhilStar
The so-called “Trillion Peso March” was held last September and November as the public calls for accountability. Amid the issue,
then-DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan hinted at cleansing the department
. There were calls for him to resign from the position.
Bonoan initially turned down the calls for him to step down from his position but eventually resigned. He attended several investigations on the flood control issue in the country.
Former DPWH Chief Manuel Bonoan was replaced by then-Department of Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon. On his first weeks, Dizon vowed to clean up the ranks in the department.
Amid the flood control investigation, former DPWH Chief Manuel Bonoan remains one of the personalities who are being probed on the issue. Last November, he flew to the United States with his wife for her medical procedure.
Bonoan’s return date was set on December 17, 2025 but he did not return to the country. He became a subject of the lookout bulletin order of the Bureau of Immigration as requested by the Department of Justice in relation to the flood control probe.
Recently,
former DPWH Chief Manuel Bonoan sought an extension of his stay abroad but promised to return to PH by February 15
. Based on a recent report on Inquirer, ahead of the promised return date of the former Public Works Chief, he recently arrived in the Philippines.
Based on the report, former DPWH Chief Manuel Bonoan arrived from Taipei via a China Airlines flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). According to the Bureau of Immigration, he arrived with no reported companion.
Based on the
report
, the Senate is expected to send a subpoena to Bonoan after he failed to appear at one of the flood control inquiries set by the chamber. Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson who heads the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee said that the former DPWH Secretary “deliberately” sent Malacañang Palace wrong grid coordinates for the flood control projects.
Previously, amid the flood control mess, the
DPWH announced that it will starts it massive recruitment this January 2026