Former DPWH Sec. Manuel Bonoan. Photo courtesy of PNA/Avito Dalan.
The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division has submitted for resolution the prosecution’s motion seeking to amend the information and remove former Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan from the plunder and graft cases against him.
The move is part of the state’s effort to discharge Bonoan as an accused and use him as a state witness in cases linked to alleged corruption in government infrastructure projects.
Fifth Division Chairperson Zaldy Trespeses said the motion was considered submitted for resolution after the court conducted a clarificatory hearing on Wednesday, July 15.
Assistant State Prosecutor III Reza Casila-Derayunan argued that the amendment was allowed under Section 14 of Rule 110 of the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure, noting that Bonoan and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada had yet to be arraigned.
The prosecution said Bonoan needed to be removed from the charge sheet to allow him to testify in related cases. Casila-Derayunan said the state remained hopeful that the court would approve the request.
However, Fifth Division Junior Member Gener Gito questioned why prosecutors invoked Rule 110 instead of Section 17 of Rule 119, which covers the discharge of an accused to become a state witness.
Bonoan, Estrada, and three other co-accused are facing plunder and graft charges over alleged illegal budget insertions and project allocations amounting to P573 million in the Department of Public Works and Highways’ 2025 infrastructure program.
The Office of the Ombudsman had earlier sought Bonoan’s discharge as a state witness, saying his testimony could help establish other cases connected to the alleged flood control corruption scandal.
