By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Former Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan has placed Senators Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go and Robin Padilla in the expanding trail of lawmakers whose infrastructure requests were coursed through the DPWH during the period now under scrutiny in the government’s flood-control investigations.
Testifying before the Sandiganbayan Third Division on Wednesday, Bonoan said former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo personally submitted to him lists of priority infrastructure projects attributed to Go and Padilla for funding under the senators’ so-called leadership funds.
Bonoan made the disclosure while serving as a prosecution witness in the case against former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., who is facing a malversation charge over an alleged ghost flood-control project in Pandi, Bulacan, reportedly amounting to P92.8 million.
The former senator has denied the allegations and remains out on P1-million bail.
Bonoan’s testimony is significant because it broadens the names emerging from the DPWH project-allocation system beyond those already linked to the cases involving Revilla and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
In his testimony, Bonoan said Revilla and Estrada had their priority projects transmitted through Bernardo, whom he described as being close to both lawmakers.
“Usec. Bernardo also submitted the list of projects for the leadership fund of Senator Bong Go, Senator Padilla,” Bonoan told Ombudsman Deputy Special Prosecutor Omar Sagadal when asked whether other senators also coursed their project requests through Bernardo.
Bonoan, however, did not testify that Go or Padilla personally handed him the project lists. Rather, he identified Bernardo as the DPWH official who transmitted the requests to him.
The distinction could become crucial as investigators attempt to determine not merely who requested infrastructure projects, but whether any of the projects became part of an illegal scheme involving kickbacks, ghost projects or misuse of public funds.
Associate Justice Karl Miranda, chairperson of the Sandiganbayan Third Division, also asked Bonoan whether any senator had personally approached him regarding project requests.
Bonoan answered in the negative, saying requests generally came through senators’ staff or DPWH officials such as Bernardo.
According to Bonoan’s testimony, senators were entitled to at least P500 million each in priority-project allocations under the leadership-fund arrangement, while senators heading major committees—including the Senate public works panel—could have allocations reaching at least P1 billion.
The testimony comes as authorities continue to unravel how lawmakers’ infrastructure priorities were incorporated into the national budget and subsequently implemented by the DPWH.
Bonoan has agreed to cooperate with investigators in the flood-control controversy, although he remains a co-accused in the plunder and graft case involving Estrada.
The allegations involving Go and Padilla remain unproven, and neither senator had issued a response to Bonoan’s testimony as of the publication of the report.
What the Sandiganbayan heard Wednesday, however, adds another layer to a widening question confronting investigators: Who actually controlled the pipeline from a senator’s project request to its inclusion, funding and eventual implementation by the DPWH?
And as more names surface in sworn testimony, that question is becoming increasingly difficult to separate from the larger investigation into how billions in public infrastructure funds were allocated and allegedly diverted.
ia/xf
