THE Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday said it was willing to hear what former Public Works secretary Manuel Bonoan has to say to strengthen the case it was preparing against former speaker Martin Romualdez, who has been embroiled in the flood control bribery scandal.
“The case of former speaker Martin Romualdez is getting stronger by the day,” said Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano during a press briefing.
Clavano said Bonoan was in “a unique position” to shed light on how the budget process was abused.
“If he is willing to cooperate, we are willing to see also what he has to say to strengthen our case,” Clavano said.
The assistant ombudsman said Bonoan’s intention to cooperate was “for that case specifically.” In a press briefing in April, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said they were preparing a case of plunder against Romualdez and former Senate president Francis Escudero.
“It’s actually the way that the budget was passed upon by the two houses and how many things happened to be have been implemented because of that,” Remulla said.
Romualdez, the congressional representative of Leyte’s first district, said in a statement last September that he never authorized, instructed, or allowed anyone to engage in any conduct that would betray the people or taint his name.
He denied receiving any kickback for any infrastructure project.
Escudero said that for over 27 years as a public servant, he has never been charged with corruption. “That record speaks for itself,” he said in a statement in September.
No cases have yet been filed against Romualdez and Escudero before the Sandiganbayan.
Remulla on Monday said that a motion to discharge Bonoan as an accused was filed “so that he can be a witness for the prosecution.” The motion was filed before the Sandiganbayan, where Bonoan is facing charges along with Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and several other people.
On May 28, the Office of the Ombudsman filed a graft case against Estrada and Bonoan and another graft case against them and former DPWH-National Capital Region officials Denryl Caesar Cortuna, Manny Bulusan, and Arturo Gonzales Jr. The Office of the Ombudsman also charged these five with plunder.
In a press briefing conducted after the cases were filed, Clavano said the cases stemmed from “an intricate mechanism involving illegal budgetary insertions and project allocations within the DPWH infrastructure portfolio” for fiscal year 2025.
“Our evaluation shows that substantial public funds were deliberately funneled into designated infrastructure projects in exchange for predetermined commission fees or kickbacks. Case records point to an accumulated sum of illicit payouts amounting to an aggregate sum of over P573 million which were systematically delivered to the principal respondent, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada,” Clavano said.
Bonoan and Estrada have denied any role in corrupt deals.
The senator is under a 90-day preventive suspension, which started on June 22, 2026, pending litigation of the graft case filed against only him and Bonoan.
The Sandiganbayan Second Division, to which the case was raffled, had ordered the preventive suspension.
Clavano described the Office of the Ombudsman’s decision to make Bonoan a state witness as “a tough decision for the office.”
“And there was a lot of consideration that had to go into that decision,” Clavano said.
He said that before the Office of the Ombudsman charged Bonoan, it reached out to him about being a possible witness but that this offer was “met with resistance.” “Now, they’re willing to cooperate,” Clavano said.
Malacañang on Tuesday said it will not interfere with the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman to treat Bonoan as a state witness against Romualdez, who is a cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“We will not interfere with what the Ombudsman’s policy will be because we know that it is an independent body,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said in Filipino in a press briefing.
Castro said Remulla has free rein on how to proceed with Bonoan’s case.
The Palace previously said it believes Bonoan “will speak only the truth” on what he knows about the massive corruption supposedly tied to the government’s flood mitigation measures.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, meanwhile, said those who have dealt kickbacks with Bonoan could be “quaking in their boots” due to the information the former official can disclose.
Lacson said Bonoan may have much to disclose as a potential state witness in the flood control scandal, but he must also make restitution for the billions in public funds lost to the anomalies.
The senator said Bonoan “certainly has a lot to reveal — from allocables to anomalous flood control and other defective infrastructure projects,” including but not limited to the P500 million he allegedly offered in exchange for his Commission on Appointments confirmation as Department of Public Works and Highways secretary in November 2022.
“With this new development, those who had direct dealings with him must be quaking in their boots,” Lacson wrote on X on Tuesday.
He said this should take into account at least P1 billion based on the testimony of former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, and a 2 percent “standard operating procedure” based on the testimony of former Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara.
Bernardo, in his supplemental affidavit dated Nov. 10, 2025, had said that Bonoan would ask him to take charge of part of his reserved allocations from time to time, and that the value of the projects he handled for Bonoan was at least P5 billion per year for 2023 to 2025, with a 15 percent average commitment.
“At the very least, the amount must be based on earlier testimonies by resource persons of the Blue Ribbon Committee under my watch,” Lacson said.
