Bonoan dropped as co-accused in flood control case
The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division has excluded former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan from plunder and graft cases in connection with the flood control scandal.
On Tuesday, Sept. 1, the prosecution confirmed to media that the Sandiganbayan's Fifth Division had agreed to remove Bonoan from the list of his co-accused.
In June, the Office of the Ombudsman issued an arrest warrant against Bonoan along with Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, former DPWH district engineers Manny Bulusan and Arturo Gonzales Jr., and assistant district engineer Denryl Caesar Cortuna over their alleged links to the anomalous flood control projects.
Bonoan was charged with one non-bailable count of plunder and two counts of graft over alleged kickbacks from flood control projects amounting to P573 million. He now faces only a graft charge before the Second Division, for which he has already posted bail.
Since his arrest, Bonoan has been detained at the PNP General Hospital.
With the dropping of the charges against Bonoan, the anti-graft court is, in effect, allowing Bonoan to turn state witness.
In its motion to drop Bonoan from among his co-accused, the prosecution moved to cite Estrada as the only one accused of allegedly accepting P213.7 million worth of kickbacks from two DPWH flood control projects in Bulacan.
The senator surrendered to authorities on June 1 following the issuance of his arrest warrant alongside Bonoan's. Estrada has since been detained at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas, and is also under a preventive 90-day suspension.
