The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan and several other ex-officials for their alleged involvement in a ₱72-million fraudulent flood control project in Plaridel, Bulacan.
ICI chair and retired Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes Jr. said the referral also sought to determine whether former undersecretaries Roberto Bernardo and Maria Athena Cabral violated ethical standards for public officials.
“It appears that several DPWH officials were grossly negligent, if not remiss, in the performance of their respective duties to ensure that the project was properly implemented and that government funds were lawfully and prudently disbursed,” Reyes said.
He added, “Their acts and commissions indicate a failure to secure the required diligence and oversight expected of public officers entrusted with administration of public funds, thereby resulting in evident injury to the government.”
The ICI said possible violations of anti-graft, malversation, and falsification laws may have been committed by former Bulacan 1st District Engineer Henry Alcantara, Assistant Engineer Brice Hernandez, and Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc. owner Eumir Villanueva.
This marks the commission’s third referral to the Ombudsman as part of its broader probe into irregularities in flood control projects — a controversy that has already implicated several high-ranking officials, including Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, and former Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co, who is reportedly in hiding abroad.