Tag: Manuel Bonoan

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Lacson Grills DPWH on ‘Leadership Fund’: Why Let Lawmakers Tinker with NEP?

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Tuesday questioned the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)’s so-called “Leadership Fund,” which he said allowed lawmakers to tinker with the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

Lacson learned about the fund while grilling ex-DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s hearing on anomalous flood control projects.

During the hearing, Lacson had asked how ex-DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo could download hundreds of millions of pesos worth of projects sourced from the NEP, or the budget proposal prepared by the executive branch, to the Bulacan First District Engineering Office under now-sacked district engineer Henry Alcantara.

“The NEP is the President’s budget proposal to be transmitted to the House and eventually to the Senate. Why are there insertions in the NEP? That I cannot really understand for the life of me,” Lacson told Bonoan in a mix of English and Filipino at the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on anomalous flood control projects.

In Filipino: Lacson, Binanatan ang ‘Leadership Fund’ ng DPWH: Bakit Pinapayagang Sumawsaw ang mga Mambabatas sa NEP?

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Lacson: Sacked DPWH Official’s Retrieved Documents, Computer to Undergo Proper Handling to Preserve Chain of Custody

Documents, a computer and other items retrieved by sacked Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer Brice Hernandez to support the claims he made before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s investigation into anomalous flood control projects will undergo proper procedure to preserve the chain of custody, Senate President Pro Tempore and Blue Ribbon Chairman Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Sunday.

Lacson also said he has set the next hearing of the Blue Ribbon Committee at 9 a.m. of Tuesday, Sept. 22, due to “new developments,” and has prepared invitations to some former DPWH officials.

“He brought back items including documents and a computer, but these items are sealed for now. We will follow a procedure to preserve the chain of custody,” he said in Filipino, in an interview on DZBB radio.

“We need to preserve the chain of custody so that if the evidence is vital to a case, it will not be compromised,” he added.

In Filipino: Lacson: Narekober na Dokumento at Computer ng Sinibak na DPWH Exec, Dadaan sa Tamang Proseso Para Mapreserba ang Chain of Custody

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Lacson Links Ex-DPWH Chief Bonoan to Pampanga Contractor Business

Resigned Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan turns out to be part of a family contractor business that bagged huge government projects in Pampanga, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson revealed Tuesday.

In his privilege speech, Lacson said Bonoan’s daughter Fatima Gay Bonoan-dela Cruz is treasurer of MBB Global Properties Corp., owned by the family of Candaba Mayor Rene Maglanque.

“Kaya naman pala ang palaging depensa ni dating DPWH Secretary Bonoan – isolated case lang daw ang nakita ni Pangulong Bongbong Marcos na ghost project sa Bulacan. Ayaw na siguro ni Bonoan na maungkat pa sa imbestigasyon ang Globalcrete (So that’s why former DPWH Sec. Bonoan claimed the anomalous projects that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. saw in Bulacan were ‘isolated cases.’ Perhaps Bonoan did not want the investigation to reach Globalcrete),” Lacson said.

In Filipino: Lacson Ikinabit si Ex-DPWH Chief Bonoan sa Negosyo ng Kontrata sa Pampanga

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On the New Secretary of the DPWH

The President made both a hard decision and a good choice in Secretary Vince Dizon to replace a beleaguered DPWH secretary.

I have watched and followed Vince Dizon’s indefatigable, almost daily effort to solve the numerous problems that beset the transportation sector. I can only wish him Godspeed and more importantly, good health.

*****

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‘Sayang’: Lacson Dismayed with DPWH Chief Bonoan over ‘Isolated Case’ Claim

Sayang.

This was how Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson expressed his dismay with Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan for insisting that the extent of corruption involving flood control projects in Bulacan is an “isolated case.”

Lacson said that while he did not hear past or present DPWH officials speak ill of Bonoan, Bonoan’s “isolated case” claim indicate he is not a good or effective leader.

“In my talks with some DPWH officials, both past and present, I didn’t hear any scathingly bad words about Sec Bonoan. But for him to claim that Bulacan is an isolated case, he doesn’t strike me as a good, effective leader of his department. Sayang,” he said on X.

In Filipino: ‘Sayang’: Lacson, Nadismaya kay DPWH Sec. Bonoan sa Pagsasabing ‘Isolated Case’ ang Katiwalian sa Bulacan

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