Marcos believes Bonoan to tell truth in flood control probe — Palace

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is confident that former Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan will tell the truth in the ongoing Senate investigation on anomalous flood control projects, Malacañang said Tuesday.

In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro was asked if Malacañang was confident over Bonoan's honesty and integrity amid the probe.

"Naniniwala po ang Pangulo na si dating secretary Manny Bonoan ay magsasabi ng katotohanan lalung-lalo naman po na siya ay nasa Senado at under oath ang kaniyang mga sinasabi. So, kailangan lamang po tayo umasa na mga katotohanan lamang ang kaniyang sasabihin," Castro said.

(The President believes that former secretary Manny Bonoan will tell the truth especially that he was under oath during the Senate hearing. Let's just hope that he will only say the truth.)

The Palace issued the statement even after Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson alleged that Bonoan deliberately submitted incorrect information about flood control projects to the President.

Bonoan, for his part, has already denied receiving over P2 billion in kickbacks from government projects.

At the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee's hearing on Monday, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian cited former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Roberto Bernardo's affidavit, in which the latter alleged that Bonoan directed him to submit a list of projects for possible inclusion in the 2026 National Expenditure Program.

Bonoan said he had not seen the affidavit but that he had already denied the allegations. 

The former DPWH chief returned to the country over the weekend after he was placed on the Bureau of Immigration's Lookout Bulletin Order following a directive from the Department of Justice to monitor his travels amid the ongoing investigation into alleged anomalous flood control projects. — VDV, GMA Integrated News