The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday assured that former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan is under real-time monitoring after departing for the United States on Tuesday.
“Being under the Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order means there is real-time monitoring and reporting of all his movements. Bantay-sarado po ng Kagawaran ng Katarungan at ng gobyerno ang bawat galaw ni Mr. Bonoan,” DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said.
The DOJ and the Bureau of Immigration confirmed that Bonoan—linked to the alleged flood-control project scandal—left to accompany his wife for a medical procedure.
Martinez clarified that Bonoan is free to travel abroad since no case or Hold Departure Order has been filed against him.
“Given that there is no pending case or Hold Departure Order arising from any such case, we cannot prevent the departure not just of former Secretary Bonoan, but of any individual for that matter,” he said, emphasizing that the “constitutional right to travel” applies to all Filipinos.
Bonoan was earlier placed under an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) amid investigations into alleged irregular flood-control projects at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), including a supposed ₱72.3-million ghost project in Plaridel, Bulacan.