Emotional Bernardo pins down mentor Bonoan, Cabral
Former Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo on Friday turned emotional when he implicated his friend and mentor, former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, in corruption issues surrounding the government’s flood control and other infrastructure projects.
Reading his supplemental affidavit during the resumption of the Senate blue ribbon committee investigation into the flood control scandal, Bernardo was almost in tears saying he looked up to Bonoan.
The former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary said the value of projects that he handled for Bonoan was at least P5 billion per year from 2023 to 2025, with a 15 percent average “commitment” or kickback.
According to Bernardo, every year, then Undersecretary Catalina Cabral would apportion the budget ceiling for the DPWH’s “allocable” funds under the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Allocable funds are money that can be assigned or distributed to the agency’s district offices.
Bernardo said that while Cabral would make it appear that all allocable funds under the NEP had been apportioned, she would reserve a substantial percentage for her and Bonoan’s preferred projects.
“Secretary Manny Bonoan would from time to time ask me to take charge of part of his own reserved allocations,” said Bernardo.
‘25 percent’
“Of this 15 percent average commitment, [Secretary] Bonoan usually would give me 25 percent of the commitment with the rest … shared between him and [Undersecretary] Cabral,” he added.
Apart from these, Bernardo recalled how Bonoan, in separate instances, ordered him to submit a list of projects for possible inclusion in the NEP.
The amount of the project ranged millions of pesos, having recorded such instances from 2022 to 2024.
Bernardo said that as a general rule and with very little exceptions, it was Cabral, with the approval of then DPWH secretary and now Sen. Mark Villar, and later continued by Bonoan, who had control at the DPWH level to “remove, include, add, deduct or modify insertions” of items in the NEP for infrastructure or those pertaining to DPWH.
“[Undersecretary] Cabral would tell me that she would communicate and meet with legislators to inform them of the amount of their allocations and ask them for titles of projects that they want to include in the DPWH budget,” said Bernardo.
He then stressed that Cabral had total influence and authority in preparing and finalizing the NEP for infrastructure.
“On multiple occasions, I personally delivered, and also caused to be delivered, cash to [Undersecretary] Cabral at her house … [in] Quezon City and other places,” said Bernardo.
Bonoan, who resigned on Aug. 31, has been allowed by the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration to travel to the United States to accompany his wife, who is scheduled for a medical procedure.
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) on Nov. 4 recommended an investigation covering Bonoan after finding him liable for a nonexistent flood works project in Bulacan for which P95.04 million had been allocated.
House turns down invite
Meanwhile, Speaker Faustino Dy III turned down the Senate’s request for nearly 20 House of Representatives members—including his predecessor and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez—to participate in blue ribbon committee investigation
The House leader invoked the ongoing investigation by the ICI.
In a letter dated Nov. 12 and addressed to panel chair, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Dy said that while the House “respect(s) the oversight function of the Senate blue ribbon committee,” the invited lawmakers had already presented to the ICI as it investigated the same issue.
“As such, it is in the best interest of the Filipino people that these House members must first fulfill their duty to cooperate with the independent investigative body directly tasked by the Executive on the matter,” Dy said.
“Subjecting them to a simultaneous legislative inquiry on the identical subject could potentially prejudice the findings of the ICI,” he added. —WITH A REPORT FROM KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING
