Lacson connects Bonoan to contractor, tags ‘BGC Boys’
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday cited more corruption schemes that had allegedly gone unchecked within the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
In a privilege speech, Lacson said the schemes showed how certain DPWH officials colluded to skim money off government projects, falsified documents and even engaged in money laundering through casinos.
Lacson drew attention to one company, MBB Global Properties Corp., owner of the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Clark, Pampanga.
According to the senator, former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan had a “family business” with Mayor Rene Maglanque of Candaba, Pampanga.
Maglanque was the former president of Globalcrete Builders, the construction company that secured P2.195 billion worth of flood control projects from 2018 to 2024 in Bulacan alone, he added.
Based on MBB’s general information sheet in 2024, its executives include president Macy Monique Maglanque, corporate secretary Sunshine Bernardo, and treasurer Fatima Gay B. (Bonoan) Dela Cruz.
Lacson said they are the children of Maglanque, Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, and Bonoan, respectively.
“MBB stands for Maglanque, Bernardo, and Bonoan… I’ll let you connect the dots,” he said.
“This was probably why former DPWH secretary Bonoan was saying that the ‘ghost’ project which President Marcos saw in Bulacan was just an isolated case. Bonoan probably doesn’t want Globalcrete to be dragged into the investigation,” he added.
‘Receipt’ pins down Cabral
The senator also noted that Mayor Maglanque remained the president of Globalcrete in 2024 and still signed contracts at a time when he should have already divested himself of his interests in the company.
There was no immediate comment from Bonoan regarding Lacson’s statement.
Lacson also presented what he considered a damning piece of evidence against Public Works Undersecretary Ma. Catalina Cabral, the official who allegedly called up and invited Senate President Vicente Sotto III to make early “insertions’’ in the 2026 national budget.
As part of his speech, Lacson showed a screenshot of a message from Cabral to Sotto shortly after the latter won the May senatorial elections.
He presented this “receipt” after Cabral denied making such offer before the recently appointed Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, Bonoan’s successor.
“[She] was actually lying through her teeth. She should know that I don’t talk without proof,” Lacson said.
In the purported message, Cabral asked Sotto if he had priority projects for “vetting”—to check for redundancy, overlap, prior funding, correct location and alignment with national government priorities and local projects.
“Para masama ko po sa NEP (National Expenditure Program) Sir (So I can include this in the NEP, Sir),” the message read.
“Her words, not mine,” Lacson said. “As the lawyers say—‘res ipsa loquitur’ (The thing speaks for itself).”
‘BGC Boys’
Lacson also said five former DPWH personnel being linked to anomalous flood projects had incurred gambling losses of more than P950 million in casinos in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
He identified them as dismissed Bulacan first district engineer Henry Alcantara, and assistant engineers Brice Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza, Arjay Domasig, Edrick San Diego.
“On top of their multimillion-peso wristwatches, signature clothes and sneakers, and their lavish lifestyles, these five erstwhile DPWH officials of the Bulacan first district engineering office earned a moniker: BGC Boys—not ‘Bonifacio Global City’ but ‘Bulacan Group of Contractors,’ as they are known to casino employees,” said Lacson.
“You’ll be overwhelmed by the huge losses they incurred in casinos: P950 million in gross losses,” he said, citing records from 13 casinos in Metro Manila, Cebu and Pampanga.
According to Lacson, Hernandez visited a casino on Sept. 1, the same day the Senate started looking into alleged flood control anomalies, while three other “BGC Boys” went to casinos in August.
“While residents of Bulacan were flooded because of their corruption, and even when the President already knew about it, the BGC Boys continued to squander the people’s money,” Lacson said.
Their names, he said, had been submitted to the Anti-Money Laundering Council and “hopefully [they] will be overwhelmed by the number of cases they will face soon.’’
