Ex-DPWH chief Manuel Bonoan rushed to PNP hospital after surrendering for plunder case

Former Department of Public Works and Highways secretary Manuel Bonoan was rushed to the hospital after he surrendered to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group after the Sandiganbayan issued an arrest warrant against him for a plunder case, which is non-bailable.

Interior Sec. Jonvic Remulla said that he was brought to the Philippine National Police hospital due to hypertension.

Remulla also told reporters that the former DPWH chief has yet to be indicted and that he was brought to the hospital before transporting him to Sandiganbayan.

"He will be kept there for an undetermined amount of time until he stabilizes and the doctor says he's fit to stand trial, then he will be brought to the Sandiganbayan," Remulla said, adding that Bonoan will be under "full security" and restricted access.

On June 1, the anti-graft court's Fifth Division ordered the arrest of Bonoan, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, former DPWH officials Denryl Caesar Cortuna, Manny Bulusan, and Arturo Gonzales over their alleged links to the flood control scandal.

Estrada also voluntarily surrendered to authorities on Monday afternoon following a press conference wherein he denied the corruption allegations against him.

The Fifth Division Clerk of Court told reporters that Estrada and Bonoan will be committed to the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas, where former senator Bong Revilla is detained for non-bailable malversation and bailable graft charges.

The new arrest warrant comes after Estrada and Bonoan each posted P90,000 bail in connection with a graft case before the Sandiganbayan Second Division.

The Office of the Ombudsman charged the officials with plunder and graft for allegedly maneuvering allocations, rigging public bidding processes, and siphoning government funds stemming from major national infrastructure systems.

Bonoan resigned as DPWH chief in August 2025 as the Marcos administration ordered a probe into the agency's flood control projects.

In November 2025, ex-DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo accused Bonoan of receiving P2.25 billion in kickbacks. Bonoan denied the allegations.