Criminal complaints were filed Thursday, February 26, against former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan and 10 others over alleged rigged bidding in five foreign-funded flood control projects.
John J. Chiong of Task Force Kasanag (TFK) asked the Office of the Ombudsman to charge Bonoan and his co-respondents with violations of Sections 3(e) and (g) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; Section 65 of R.A. No. 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act; and R.A. No. 7080, the Anti-Plunder Act.
Respondents include Public Works Senior Undersecretary Emil Sadain, Undersecretary and Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Chairman Ador Canlas, BAC Vice Chairpersons Pol delos Santos and Alex Bote, Bureau of Construction Director Allan Borromeo, Bureau of Design Director Blesilda Ramos, UPMO Project Directors Teresita Bauzon and Ramon Arriola III, Bureau of Design OIC Director Lara Marisse Esquibil, BAC Provisional Member Gliciridia Tumaliuan-ali, and several private firms such as Sino Road and Bridge Group Co. Ltd., China International Water & Electric Corp., Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Co. Ltd., and Beijing Urban Construction Group.
The complaint alleged systematic bid rigging, manipulation of the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC), unfair disqualification of lowest bidders, irregular awarding of multi-billion projects, and solicitation of money.
Among the projects cited were the Malabang Viaduct in Marawi City; Ranao (Agus) River Basin Flood Control Infrastructure – Package 1 in Balo-i, Lanao del Norte; and the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network (LLRN) Packages 1, 2, and 3.
The complaint claimed ₱360 million in excess awards for the Malabang Viaduct alone, pointing to a “pattern of repeated irregular awards.”
Chiong accused Bonoan of issuing Department Order No. 173 Series of 2024, which removed the ABC ceiling for foreign-funded projects, allowing unlimited bidding and later adjusting the ABC upward by 15% in favor of selected bidders.
He alleged that respondents posted zero ABC despite approved budgets, awarded bids higher than the ABC, failed to publicly open financial bids, and issued irregular BAC resolutions.
“Ang mga gawaing ito ay sumisira sa transparency at competitiveness at bumubuo ng mga krimen ayon sa Section 65 ng R.A. No. 9184,” the complaint stated.