Bonoan pleads not guilty to flood scam graft

Former public works chief Manuel Bonoan arrives at the Sandiganbayan on Sept. 4 for the scheduled arraignment on his bailable graft charge over the flood control scandal.

Michael Varcas

MANILA, Philippines — Former public works secretary Manuel Bonoan has entered a “not guilty” plea before the Sandiganbayan Second Division on his remaining graft case concerning alleged kickbacks from flood control projects.

Bonoan was arraigned on Sept. 4 after he was ordered released from police custody following his removal as co-accused in previous plunder and graft charges before the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division.

In this graft case, Bonoan’s co-accused is Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who attended the arraignment via teleconference.

The charge stemmed from an alleged conspiracy to ensure the inclusion of flood control projects in Bulacan in the 2025 budget, where the senator allegedly received a P213.7-million kickback.

The anti-graft court division previously denied the prosecution’s move to have Bonoan excluded in the graft case but the former public works chief has filed an appeal to overturn this decision.

The court also entered a not guilty plea for Tarlac 3rd district Rep. Noel Rivera after he refused to enter a plea in his graft case over alleged conflict of interest in government infrastructure projects.

Ombudsman prosecutors have accused Rivera of having conflict of interest over his and his wife’s shares in Tarlac 3-G Construction and Development Corp., which bagged several government contracts while he was still congressman from 2022 to 2025.

Under Section 3.h of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, public officials are not allowed to have financial or pecuniary interest – directly or indirectly – in any business, contract or transaction in connection with which he intervenes or takes part in his official capacity, or in which he is prohibited by the Constitution or by any law from having any interest.

Rivera is facing nine counts of graft. One count each has been raffled to the First, Second and Fourth divisions of the anti-graft court, and two cases each to the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh divisions.