MANILA — Former Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan remains an accused in a flood control graft case alongside Sen. Jinggoy Estrada despite his earlier removal from separate plunder and graft charges that led to his release from detention.
The Sandiganbayan Second Division rejected government prosecutors’ bid to discharge Bonoan from the graft case stemming from an alleged kickback scheme involving flood control projects, creating contrasting outcomes for the former Cabinet official before two divisions of the anti-graft court.
The Second Division informed the parties of its decision during the pre-trial proceedings involving Bonoan and Estrada.
Government prosecutors subsequently told the court that they would continue treating Bonoan as an accused while awaiting further instructions from their superiors at the Office of the Ombudsman.
The ruling stands in contrast to an earlier decision of the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division, which granted the prosecution’s request to remove Bonoan as an accused in a P573-million plunder case and another graft case arising from the alleged flood control kickback scheme.
That ruling paved the way for Bonoan’s release from hospital detention on Sept. 3. The Office of the Ombudsman has sought to use the former DPWH chief as a cooperating or state witness in cases connected with alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
The Second Division had earlier ruled that removing Bonoan from the case could prejudice Estrada, who had already been arraigned, particularly because Bonoan’s alleged participation as a co-accused could affect the presentation of evidence and the determination of the respective roles of those charged.
The court, however, said prosecutors were not permanently barred from seeking Bonoan’s discharge as a state witness at the appropriate stage of the proceedings, provided the requirements under court rules are met.
The graft case before the Second Division involves allegations that Bonoan and Estrada committed acts of partiality that caused injury to the government in connection with flood control projects.
The Ombudsman earlier accused Estrada, Bonoan and other former DPWH officials of involvement in an alleged scheme in which public funds were channeled into infrastructure projects in exchange for predetermined commissions or kickbacks.
The separate plunder case involves allegations of P573 million in illicit payouts. Under Republic Act 7080, or the Plunder Law, a public officer may be charged with plunder for allegedly amassing at least P50 million in ill-gotten wealth through a combination or series of criminal acts.
The Supreme Court has also ruled that the prosecution must establish the existence of a principal plunderer to secure a conviction for plunder.
With the Second Division refusing to drop him from the graft case, Bonoan remains an accused before that court even as he has been removed from the separate plunder and graft cases pending before the Fifth Division./PN
