Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Rowegie Abanto

Victoria Tulad

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1768798641483Screen Shot 2026-01-19 at 12.56.33 PM_cropped_processed_by_imagy.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan showed up at Monday&#x27;s resumption of Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing into the flood control corruption scandal. Victoria Tulad, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>2nd UPDATE</strong>) — Former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan on Monday defended the information he had submitted to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on thousands of flood control projects across the country following claims of inaccuracies in their locations.</p><p>Bonoan has been accused of providing Marcos &quot;wrong&quot; grid coordinates of the flood control projects that supposedly resulted in erroneous data involving 421 &quot;ghost&quot; or non-existent anti-flood infrastructure.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/18/a-quick-refresher-on-the-flood-control-mess-as-senate-resumes-probe-2230">A quick refresher on the flood-control mess as Senate resumes probe</a></div><p>At the resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, Bonoan explained that the data he provided to Marcos were based on the Multi-Year Planning and Scheduling (MYPS) of the agency.</p><p>While MYPS is only &quot;locational&quot; and is different from As-Staked coordinates, which are the actual basis for the infrastructure projects&#x27; contract, Bonoan said he told the President that the projects were &quot;still in the same area; it cannot be in any other area.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/19/dpwh-usec-flood-control-projects-inspection-must-start-over-due-to-wrong-coordinates-1448">Inspection of flood control projects must start over due to wrong coordinates—DPWH usec</a></div><p>He added that there were other information included in his submission to the Office of the President that could be useful to validate the actual existence of the projects.</p><p>Bonoan said the flood control data he provided to Marcos were based on a report produced by the office of the late former public works executive Maria Catalina &quot;Cathy&quot; Cabral, who was the agency&#x27;s undersecretary for Planning and Public-Private Partnership.</p><div> </div><div><strong>&#x27;BAKIT HINDI KINOREK?&#x27;</strong></div><div> </div><p>Former Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, who is present at the hearing and is now among the state witnesses in flood control scam cases, confirmed to senators that MYPS data do not pertain to the actual project construction. </p><p>&quot;If we are trying to find out, of course, ‘yung mga flood control projects, malaki po ang diperensiya niyan dun sa datos ng planning. Kasi minsan po, sa loob po ng isang taon, nagbabago po ang linya ng ating mga ilog eh. So ‘yun po kailangang maging sakto,&quot; he said.</p><p>Bernardo questioned why personnel of the Project Monitoring System (PMS) — which serves as database for DPWH projects and had been tasked to collate data from district engineers and regional directors on flood control projects — allegedly did not correct the data submitted to them.</p><p>&quot;Ang akin po, wala naman po akong ano doon sa... kung it was wrongfully submitted or may intensyon. Basta ang akin lamang po eh sana po, while the data was submitted only to the... to the PMS, bakit po may mga naiwan naman pong mga tao doon na bakit po hindi kinorek?&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;Bakit hindi po nila sinabi na mali po ‘yung ano... dahil ang nabigay pong data dun sa nag-inspection, MYPS data rin po. Nung una po na... I think nung nagawa po si Secretary Manny Bonoan ng mga mag-iinspection, eh ang nagbigay po ng data from Planning, ‘yun pong MYPS data rin po ang binigay. So sabi ko, talagang maraming makikitang ghost projects dito at hindi mabi-verify talaga ‘yung actual project na nagawa po,&quot; Bernardo said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;BAKA MA-CONTEMPT AKO&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Bonoan attended the Senate hearing into the flood control mess a day <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/18/ex-dpwh-chief-bonoan-back-in-ph-immigration-1328">after returning to the Philippines</a> from Taipei, Taiwan. He was previously in the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/15/remulla-bonoan-overstaying-in-us-can-be-deported-already-1747">United States</a>.</p><p>Bonoan said he returned to the Philippines from the US to avoid being cited in contempt by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. A subpoena was issued against him last week.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/19/senate-issues-show-cause-vs-zaldy-co-aide-for-failing-to-attend-hearing-1339">Senate issues show-cause order vs Zaldy Co, Orly Guteza for failing to attend hearing</a></div><p>&quot;I was afraid baka ma-contempt ako rito,&quot; Bonoan said at the sidelines of the Blue Ribbon hearing.</p><p>Bonoan left the country in November 2025 to accompany his wife to the United States for a medical procedure.</p><p>The Independent Commission for Infrastructure last year recommended the filing of administrative charges against Bonoan and his former undersecretaries Bernardo and Cabral for possible violation of the code of conduct for public officials.</p><p>Bernardo had claimed that some funding for allegedly anomalous infrastructure projects was &quot;cleared&quot; by Cabral and would be later approved by the public works secretary.</p><p>But Bonoan denied allegations that he pocketed public funds.  </p><p>&quot;Wala. I don&#x27;t know where the figures are coming from,&quot; Bonoan said. &quot;Bakit sa &#x27;kin mapupunta ang mga allocation na &#x27;yan eh I’m in charge with the entire budget of P900 billion.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>WATCH</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hEZ-W4jczXw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan defended the information he had submitted to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on thousands of flood control projects across the country following claims of inaccuracies in their locations.</p>

Former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan defended the information he had submitted to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on thousands of flood control projects across the country following claims of inaccuracies in their locations.

'Wrong' coordinates? Ex-DPWH chief Bonoan defends flood control data submitted to Marcos

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'Wrong' coordinates? Ex-DPWH chief Bonoan defends flood control data submitted to Marcos

Rowegie Abanto,

Victoria Tulad,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 19, 2026 12:59 PM PHT

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Updated Jan 19, 2026 03:52 PM PHT

Read More:

Manuel Bonoan

Senate Hearing

Flood Control

Flood Control Scandal

Flood Control Corruption

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