Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel M. Bonoan, who is currently the subject of an Immigration Lookout Bulletin (ILBO), failed to return to the Philippines on December 17—the date he had declared for his return after departing the country on November 11.
“Records show that he (Bonoan) has not returned to the Philippines to date, despite indicating December 17, 2025 as his return date in his letter, through counsel, on November 10, 2025,” disclosed Bureau of Immigration (BI) spokesperson Dana Sandoval on Thursday, Dec. 18.
Sandoval explained that Bonoan, under ILBO monitoring, departed the country on November 11, 2025 for the United States via Taiwan, allegedly to accompany his wife for a medical procedure.
Bonoan has been tagged in the anomalous government flood control projects.
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) earlier recommended to the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) to investigate former DPWH officials, including Bonoan, over the P72.3 million flood control project in Plaridel, Bulacan.
The project, located in Barangay Bagong Silang (Purok 4), involved the construction of a riverbank protection structure.
“The project was never constructed at the designated location in the approved bid plans, thus, not implemented,” ICI Chairman, retired Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Andres Reyes Jr., had previously said. (Jeffrey Damicog)
