BACOLOD City – Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez lambasted former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan, saying his resignation was “long overdue.”
“I called for [former] Sec. Bonoan to take a leave of absence early on, and when anomalous and ghost flood control projects came out, I was one of those who demanded his resignation. His stepping down now is long overdue. It is something that should have happened a long time ago,” Benitez said.
The lawmaker stressed that calls for Bonoan to resign were meant to open the way for “new leadership with the competence and credibility to immediately confront the deep-seated systemic issues hounding the agency — especially corruption.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has since appointed Vince Dizon as the new DPWH secretary, effective September 1, following Bonoan’s resignation.
Benitez welcomed the appointment, saying Dizon’s entry gives the President the opportunity to “clean house” at the agency.
“Secretary Dizon, coming from outside the entrenched structures of the DPWH, is in a position to look at its problems with a fresh eye,” he said, adding that Dizon’s track record at the Department of Transportation (DOTr) inspires confidence that he can restore integrity, transparency, and efficiency to one of the government’s most critical departments.
The DPWH shake-up came after Marcos’ surprise inspection of a P55-million river wall project in Baliwag, Bulacan, where he discovered that despite being declared “completed,” no construction had taken place. The revelation sparked outrage and intensified calls for Bonoan’s resignation.
Reports said Bonoan initially resisted leaving his post, arguing that resignation was “the easier way out” and would not solve systemic corruption in the DPWH.
“Nakakasakit po ito ng dibdib at napakasakit pong tanggapin ang mga nangyayaring ito sa ilalim ng aking panunungkulan, kahit ano pong higpit at strikto ng ating polisiya laban sa katiwalian,” Bonoan said in a video message on Saturday, August 30.
He added: “Pero hindi po ang pag-alis o pag-iwas ng responsibilidad ang tamang paraan ng paghahanap ng solusyon. Sa akin po, tatanggapin ko ang accountability. Pero tandaan po ninyo, hindi ko po kukunsintihin o papayagan ang anumang uri ng korapsyon.”
In light of the controversy, President Marcos has directed the DPWH to submit a comprehensive list of flood mitigation projects implemented over the past three years./PN
