MANILA — Former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan has identified senators Christopher “Bong” Go, Robin Padilla and Jinggoy Estrada as among lawmakers who submitted lists of priority infrastructure projects to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) through a former agency official in 2025.
Bonoan made the disclosure while testifying before the Sandiganbayan in the malversation case involving former senator Bong Revilla and former officials of the DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office over alleged irregularities in flood-control projects.
During cross-examination, Bonoan testified that Revilla had also submitted a list of priority infrastructure projects through former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo.
According to Bonoan, the proposed projects were subjected to verification by the DPWH before they could be considered for funding under the agency’s so-called “leadership funds.”
Bonoan said Go, Padilla and Estrada similarly coursed their project lists through Bernardo in 2025, revealing that the practice extended to several senators.
The former DPWH chief described the “leadership funds” as an ad hoc allocation created to accommodate senators’ priority infrastructure projects in the national budget.
He said he coordinated with then-Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri in establishing the funding mechanism in 2024, with the Senate President determining how much would be allocated to each senator.
Bonoan testified that Senate committee chairmen received around P1 billion in leadership funds, while lawmakers who did not chair committees were allocated P5 million.
Revilla, who chaired the Senate Committee on Public Works, was allocated P5 billion in leadership funds, Bonoan said.
The former senator is facing a malversation case arising from a P92.8-million flood-control project in Pandi, Bulacan, which authorities later found to be nonexistent.
The case has placed greater scrutiny on the process by which lawmakers proposed infrastructure projects and how these projects were screened and funded through the DPWH./PN
