Former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan must first secure clearance from a Manila court if he intends to travel back to the United States, the Bureau of Immigration clarified Tuesday.
BI spokesperson Dana Mengote-Sandoval explained that a precautionary hold departure order (PHDO) issued by the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 52 carries more weight than the earlier Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) placed on Bonoan.
She noted that a lookout bulletin only authorizes immigration officers to monitor a person’s travel movements and does not automatically bar departure.
“Under a lookout bulletin, the individual may still leave or re-enter the country without restriction,” she said.
By contrast, a PHDO explicitly prohibits the subject from leaving the Philippines. If Bonoan wishes to travel abroad, he must first seek permission from the court that issued the order.
On Monday, Bonoan submitted his counter-affidavit before the Department of Justice in connection with the plunder complaint filed against him.
During the proceedings, he acknowledged plans to return to the U.S., though he said he had yet to finalize his departure date.
Mengote-Sandoval added that individuals covered by a PHDO must obtain a court-issued allowed departure order for specific, valid reasons. Even then, their names remain under the hold departure order.
Bonoan had previously traveled to the U.S. amid the controversy surrounding alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
In January, he sought to extend his stay abroad by another month, citing his wife’s eye condition, before returning later that month.
The PHDO also covers former DPWH officials Catalina Cabral, Roberto Bernardo, Gerard Opulencia, and Henry Alcantara.
Cabral passed away in December 2025 following an alleged fall along Kennon Road, while Bernardo, Alcantara, and Opulencia have since been designated as state witnesses in the government’s ongoing probe into the flood control scheme.