Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan,
FORMER Public Works and Highways secretary Manuel Bonoan was brought to a hospital for hypertension shortly after the Sandiganbayan issued an arrest warrant against him for plunder, according to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.
Bonoan stands accused alongside Senator Jinggoy Estrada and three other former DPWH officials in connection with the alleged irregularities in flood control projects, facing both graft and plunder charges before the anti‑graft court.
“Secretary Bonoan is on his way to the hospital because his hypertension was listed at 192/100. He will be kept there for an undetermined amount of time until his condition stabilizes,” Remulla told reporters during a briefing at Camp Crame on Monday. He assured the public that while receiving medical care, Bonoan remains under strict security measures. “He will not be able to leave, and access to him has been restricted. Once doctors declare him fit to face the legal process, he will be presented before the Sandiganbayan,” Remulla added.
This is not the first time Bonoan has faced an arrest order in relation to the controversy. Just last week, the court’s Second Division issued a warrant against him and Estrada for graft, a bailable offense, which they resolved by posting ₱90,000 bail each. However, the latest order issued by the Fifth Division involves the much more serious charge of plunder — a non‑bailable crime punishable by reclusion perpetua, or up to 40 years in prison.
Following the issuance of the plunder arrest warrants on Monday afternoon, Estrada voluntarily surrendered himself to operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. Unlike Estrada, who is now in custody, Bonoan remains under close watch at the medical facility, with authorities waiting only for medical clearance to formally serve the warrant and take him into detention.
