Palace: Changes meant to rid govt of corruption
MANUEL Bonoan has resigned from his post as secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) effective September 1, Communications Secretary Dave Gomez said yesterday
Gomez said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has accepted the resignation and named Vince Dizon, secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), as Bonoan’s replacement.
Dizon is set to take his oath today.
Named acting DOTr secretary was Transportation Undersecretary for Administration, Finance, and Procurement Giovanni Lopez who has served as chief of staff in the Office of the DOTr Secretary and held senior positions overseeing critical railway, aviation, and maritime infrastructure projects.
Gomez said the President has directed Dizon to conduct “a full organizational sweep of the department and ensure that public funds are used solely for infrastructure that truly protects and benefits the Filipino people.”
Dizon will head the “Independent Commission to Investigate Flood Control Anomalies” which Gomez said the President has created to further reinforce accountability.
The body will review projects, identify irregularities, and recommend accountability measures to ensure public trust in infrastructure spending.
Gomez said the changes in the DPWH and the creation of the investigating body “reflect the administration’s firm resolve to clean up corruption, strengthen institutions, and deliver honest and effective public service under Bagong Pilipinas.”
Bonoan’s resignation came amid calls for him to either take a leave of absence or resign as irregularities involving flood control projects, including incomplete and “ghost” projects and completion of substandard structures, continue to be uncovered.
Gomez said he was not certain if Bonoan submitted a new resignation letter or if the President accepted the courtesy resignation he submitted in May.
“Not sure if (it’s) new. All the courtesy resignations have no expiry. We all serve at the pleasure of the President,” he said in a message to the media.
But he said the Bonoan, in his resignation letter, “expressed support for the President’s call for accountability, transparency, and reform within the DPWH.”
Marcos in May told all his Cabinet men and other key officials to submit their courtesy resignation as part of his government’s recalibration. Malacañang at that time said the move signaled a shift from governance to focus on performance and results.
The President on August 11 said that of 9,855 flood control projects have been implemented from July 2022 to May 2025, amounting to P545.6 billion, there were 6,021 projects or about 61 percent that “do not specify the exact type of flood control structures built, repaired, or rehabilitated.”
“Several projects in different locations have exactly the same contract cost, which could mean the same design, materials and lengths were used despite difference in location or terrain,” a presentation of Marcos during a press conference showed.
The President has also said that 15 contractors bagged 20 of the total number of flood control projects amounting to more than P100 billion.
Marcos has been conducting project inspections, including those that were not included in the list of flood control projects that were initially submitted to him, and has found out that some of them have been reported as completed but were either incomplete or non-existent.
HOUSE PROBE
Rep. Terry Ridon (PL, Bicol Saro), chair of the House Committee on Public Accounts, said Bonoan is still invited to the hearing of the Infrastructure Committee (Infra Comm) on Tuesday along with Dizon.
The Infra Comm is composed of the public accounts committee, the committee on good government chaired by Manila Rep. Joel Chua, and the committee on public works of Surigao del Sur Rep. Romeo Momo Sr.
“Former Secretary Bonoan will still be invited to the Infra Comm hearing and an invitation will be given to incoming DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon. We thank Secretary Bonoan for his service and wish him well in his future endeavors,” Ridon said.
“The House Infrastructure Committee will nonetheless continue with its initial hearing on Tuesday, focusing on the President’s site inspections of ghost and substandard projects in Bulacan, and undercapitalized firms cornering billions of pesos in flood control contracts,” he added.
Rep. Antonio Tinio (PL, ACT) said Bonoan’s resignation is not enough because “the plunder of public infrastructure funds is so systematic, widespread, and deep-rooted. “
“The DPWH bureaucrats at various levels are in the end merely enablers of the main beneficiaries of the corrupt system – the predatory politicians in the executive and legislative branch who consider kickbacks from public works an entitlement,” he said.
“The whole national budget process is designed to accommodate insertions of projects at every stage so that the legislator-proponent can collect kickbacks from favored contractors through rigged biddings. In our current system, the President presides over this division of spoils and relies on it to maintain control of their so-called ruling coalition,” he added.
Tinio said the “unprecedented” levels of budgetary insertions during the first half of the current administration, with over a trillion pesos going to flood control projects alone, “points to the ultimate responsibility of President Marcos Jr. himself by signing the appropriations bills of the past three years into law and thus opening the floodgates to this institutionalized theft. “
SUPPORT FOR DIZON
Meanwhile, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the President has made both a “hard decision and good choice” in appointing Dizon to the DPWH.
“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,” Lacson said.
The Quezon City government, in a statement, welcomed Dizon’s appointment.
“Secretary Dizon has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership and dedication in every national responsibility entrusted to him — whether as former president and CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, as our country’s COVID-19 testing czar, or most recently as secretary of Transportation. In each role, he has delivered transformative results that directly benefited our people and strengthened public trust in government institutions,” it said.
“We are confident that under his stewardship, the DPWH will further embody transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the implementation of public infrastructure. In particular, we trust that Secretary Dizon will champion strategic, science-based, and community-driven solutions to the persistent problem of flooding, including the adoption and scaling of Quezon City’s Drainage Master Plan. These reforms are crucial in ensuring that every peso of public funds is maximized for infrastructure that safeguards lives, protects property, and builds resilience in the face of climate change,” it added. – With Wendell Vigilia and Raymond Africa
