Dizon replaces Bonoan; ‘sweep’ of DPWH ordered
President Marcos has yielded to mounting calls from various stakeholders and removed Manuel Bonoan as head of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Mr. Marcos named Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon as Bonoan’s replacement and also ordered the formation of an independent commission to investigate flood control projects amid the alleged collusion among lawmakers, DPWH officials and private contractors during the past three years of his administration.
Just two days ago, the department said it had formed its own investigative panel to look into the flood control projects.
In a statement on Sunday, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Dave Gomez said the President accepted Bonoan’s resignation effective Sept. 1.
Dizon, as the new DPWH chief, has been directed by the President “to conduct a full organizational sweep of the department and ensure that public funds are used solely for infrastructure that truly protects and benefits the Filipino people.”
The President also appointed lawyer Giovanni Lopez as acting secretary of the Department of Transportation to guarantee the agency’s uninterrupted service delivery.
It took more than a month for the President to let go of Bonoan since he raised the issue of anomalies in flood control projects during his fourth State of the Nation Address on July 28.
Malacañang had repeatedly told reporters that Bonoan still enjoyed the trust and confidence of the President.
Heeding the call of anticorruption advocates and some lawmakers, Mr. Marcos said an independent commission will investigate flood control issues.
But no details were provided yet on who were appointed to the commission and who will lead it.
Gomez said “This body will conduct a comprehensive review of projects, identify irregularities, and recommend accountability measures to ensure public trust in infrastructure spending.”
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who was among the first to claim there was connivance between lawmakers and DPWH officials in government infrastructure projects, had earlier volunteered to lead a third-party audit on flood control projects.
Former Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson also expressed willingness to lead the investigation, after declining the President’s offer for Singson to return and head the agency.
The name of Police Gen. Nicolas Torre III was also floated to lead the independent body after he was unceremoniously sacked as chief of Philippine National Police last week, more than a year before his scheduled retirement on March 11, 2027.
‘Hands-on approach’
Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said “We wish Dizon well and pray for his success as he takes on the formidable task of leading the [DPWH]. The challenges before him are immense—but so is the opportunity to institute long-overdue reforms in the agency.”
He added that the “hands-on approach and fresh perspective he brings will serve him well” in confronting the problems that have long plagued the DPWH, adding that “rooting out corruption is just the first step, because equally important is ensuring that all DPWH projects serve their purpose and truly improve the lives of our countrymen.”
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said Dizon is a “very good choice. He’s an action man and a man of integrity. I’m very confident that he will get the job done without corruption.”
But the first order of business, according to Gatchalian, is to put corrupt officials and contractors in jail to bring back public confidence in the DPWH.
Sen. JV Ejercito also said Dizon will face the daunting task of restoring the public’s faith in the scandal-ridden agency.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said “I have watched and followed Vince Dizon’s indefatigable, almost daily effort to solve the numerous problems that beset the transportation sector. I can only wish him Godspeed and more importantly, good health.”
Funds for finished projects?
A new issue that is expected to hound the DPWH pertains to what Marikina Rep. Marcelino Teodoro described as completed flood control projects and repair of roads again being allocated funding under the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted by the Department of Budget and Management.
According to Teodoro, this confirms House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno’s disclosure that several items under next year’s national budget were allocations for already finished projects.
During a consultation with the DPWH on its proposed funding for infrastructure undertakings, Teodoro said: “I noticed some items and I told [now resigned DPWH secretary] Bonoan that in 2023, the slope protection project in Balanti Creek in Barangay Sto. Niño was already finished but it was included again under the flood control mitigation program [for 2026].”
He said he asked the DPWH to clarify the duplication because “it’s very general and vaguely identified with no specification given.”
Aside from the new allotments for completed flood works, Teodoro also flagged entries for repairs of roads now in good condition.
He noted that the DPWH listed road works for Malaya Street in Barangay Malanday in Marikina City even if it remained in good condition and had recently completed drainage improvements.
‘Horror story’
In the Senate, Lacson on Sunday divulged another issue hounding the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board.
In an interview with radio dzBB, he said a contractor was threatened with nonrenewal of his license if he did not pay up.
“It was a case of extortion because he was blackmailed into coughing up at least a million pesos. He was told his license would not be renewed if he did not pay up,” said Lacson, who did not identify the contractor.
Another “horror story” subject to validation involved another contractor who had to pay P7 million for his first-time accreditation.
Insertions
Without giving further details, the senator said he hopes the contractor would cooperate in an investigation and share his story.
Lacson also reiterated his call for full transparency in the budget so lawmakers can have a “shared responsibility” in the funding for their projects and other insertions.
Without this transparency, he said there will continue to be multiple insertions, starting from the NEP where DPWH officials invite lawmakers during the budget call to insert their projects, to the House and Senate versions of the budget bill, and all the way to the bicameral conference committee.
But Deputy Speaker and La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V said accusations linking all legislators to alleged anomalies in flood control projects are baseless.
Lawmakers do not have an “undue influence” over contractors, he said.
“We don’t choose the contractor. The congressman’s role is to connect the needs of the public to the government. If permitted, the DPWH will implement it. The process is clear,” Ortega said.
“There’s a lot of slander in social media, which generalizes all representatives. There is no basis and evidence. Even the innocent ones are implicated,” he added. —WITH REPORTS FROM DIANNE SAMPANG AND TINA G. SANTOS
