ICI: Infra funds plundered right under Bonoan’s nose
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) on Tuesday blamed former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan for allowing the alleged conspiracy between public engineers and a private contractor in the P72.4-million “ghost” flood control project at a riverbank in Plaridel, Bulacan province.
In its third interim report and recommendation to the Office of the Ombudsman, the ICI stressed that the “plunder of public funds happened right under [Bonoan’s] nose.”
“He miserably failed to exercise simple diligence tantamount to fraud in ensuring the judicious use of public funds entrusted to DPWH,” read part of the 18-page report signed by ICI Chair Andres Reyes Jr.
The ICI asked the Office of the Ombudsman that Bonoan face administrative charges of grave misconduct, gross dishonesty, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and “any violations” under Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
Bonoan stepped down as DPWH chief effective Sept. 1, more than a month after President Marcos bared in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) the corruption in government infrastructure projects overseen by the public works department.
Also recommended to be charged with the same administrative offenses were two other former high-ranking DPWH officials, namely Undersecretary for operations Roberto Bernardo and Undersecretary for planning and public-private partnerships Maria Catalina Cabral.
Perpetrators
The fact-finding body, however, recommended graft, malversation and falsification charges against the DPWH engineers assigned in the first district of Bulacan, led by former district engineer Henry Alcantara and ex-assistant engineer Brice Hernandez, who carried out the scheme to defraud the government.
It urged the Ombudsman to charge with the same criminal offenses DPWH officials Jaypee Mendoza, chief of construction; Ernesto Galang, bids and awards committee chair and chief of planning and design; John Michael Ramos, project engineer, engineers Irene Ontingco, Joshua Roxas and Bernardo Villafuerte, as well as Eumir Villanueva, president of Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc., the contractor of the flagged project.
Topnotch is among the construction firms that President Marcos identified as having cornered a significant chunk, or about P100 billion, of the entire P545-billion budget for flood- control projects from July 2022 to May 2025.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said the referrals and findings will now undergo preliminary investigation.
There were no immediate comments from the three former DPWH officials regarding the ICI recommendation.
The ICI based its recommendations on an audit report of the Commission on Audit (COA) as well as bidding records for the project involving the construction of a “riverbank protection structure” at Bagong Silang (Purok 4) in Plaridel.
The procurement was held from Nov. 14 to Dec. 5, 2024, which ended with Topnotch bagging the contract in February this year for offering the lowest bid price of P69.48 million.
Upon implementation, the project cost was revised to P72.374 million.
Betrayal of trust
But the ICI noted that inspections and documents obtained for the project showed that no flood control structure was built on the intended site despite the “unwarranted release and full payment cost by the DPWH to Topnotch.”
“Based on the documents submitted to the COA and the results of its site inspections, the COA found that no structure was constructed at the location specified in the approved bid plans; instead, the structure was supposedly relocated to the site identified in the as staked/as built plans,” it said.
An “as staked plan” lays out the “actual field condition” following a preconstruction survey on the DPWH infrastructure project, while an “as built plan” shows the drawing of the structure to be reviewed and approved by the project engineer as to whether it was executed properly.
Worse, the COA even flagged, through notices of disallowance, the first and second partial payments made to Topnotch for the “failure (by district engineering office) to submit the paid disbursement vouchers and supporting documents.”
The first notice was on March 20, 2025, for the partial payment of P24.62 million, and then on Aug. 29, 2025, for the second payment of P36.44 million.
“Considering that the… disbursements from government funds were made despite the lack of supporting documents, the transactions are deemed irregular,” the ICI noted.
The lack of necessary papers for the project, including accomplishment reports, certificate of final acceptance and “geotagged” photos, also bolstered the finding that there was “an intent to deceive the government,” it said.
Given this, the ICI pointed the finger at Bonoan, as head of the DPWH, for allowing the scheme to be pulled off under his watch.
“The above-described scheme perpetrated by senior DPWH employees was made possible because Secretary Bonoan betrayed such trust reposed on him… Were it not for the President’s 2025 Sona, Secretary Bonoan’s inexcusable negligence tantamount to fraud would have resulted in further plunder of public funds,” the three-member panel said.
A civil engineer by profession, Bonoan, 80, is a longtime public servant, having started his government career in the DPWH in 1966. He became a public works assistant secretary in 1987 and then undersecretary in 1998, before being appointed officer in charge in 2007.
Lawmakers involved
The latest set of recommended charges against public officials and private contractors alleged to be involved in the squander of government funds for flood control projects followed the Oct. 29 submission of the ICI asking the Ombudsman to consider suing Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada; former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co; former Caloocan Rep. Mary Mitzi Cajayon-Uy, and COA Commissioner Mario Lipana for the nonbailable charge of plunder.
This is in relation to the alleged “kickback scheme” revealed in the sworn affidavits and corroborating evidence provided by Alcantara, Hernandez and Mendoza.
Bernardo was also included in the second ICI report, but for the lesser criminal charges of direct or indirect bribery and corruption of public officials.
On Sept. 29, the commission submitted to the Ombudsman its first referral to determine appropriate charges to be filed against 18 public officials, including resigned Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co.
This was in connection with the alleged irregularities plaguing the P289.5-million flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon has also been filing complaints in relation to the alleged corruption in flood control projects around the country.
On Sept. 11, Dizon filed graft complaints at the Ombudsman against the former DPWH officials in the first district of Bulacan as well as private contractors Sally Nicolas Santos of SYMS Construction, Mark Allan Arevalo of Wawao Builders, Ma. Roma Angeline Rimando and beneficial owner Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya of St. Timothy Construction Corp., and Robert Imperio of IM Construction Corp.
On Oct. 23, the DPWH filed another set of graft charges and malversation through falsification of public documents at the Ombudsman against 22 individuals, including its own engineers and employees, who were being linked to “ghost” or substandard infrastructure projects in La Union and Davao Occidental. —WITH REPORTS FROM MARY JOY SALCEDO, FAITH ARGOSINO AND INQUIRER RESEARCH
