FORMER Public Works and Highways secretary Manuel Bonoan was released from detention on Friday, September 4, 2026.
A vehicle carrying Bonoan left the Philippine National Police (PNP) General Hospital in Camp Crame around 10:30 a.m.
The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division issued the release order on Thursday, September 3, 2026.
Bonoan is one of the co-accused of Senator Jinggoy Estrada in plunder and graft charges in relation to irregularities in flood control projects.
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-National Capital Region (CIDG-NCR) chief Police Colonel John Guiagui said they received the order around 5 p.m. the same day.
As part of the procedure, Guiagui said CIDG-NCR personnel went to the Sandiganbayan on Friday morning to secure certification confirming the release order.
On Monday, September 1, the anti-graft court granted the Office of the Ombudsman’s request to discharge Bonoan as a co-accused in the plunder and graft cases involving Senator Jinggoy Estrada over alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
The Fifth Division also ordered the recall of the warrant of arrest and hold departure order it had issued against Bonoan.
Bonoan was among Estrada’s co-accused, along with three others, in the cases filed by the Ombudsman over an alleged scheme involving budget insertions and project allocations for DPWH infrastructure projects in 2025.
The Ombudsman alleged that Estrada and his co-accused were involved in a scheme that resulted in more than P573 million in kickbacks from flood control projects.
The Ombudsman moved to discharge Bonoan from the cases after he agreed to cooperate with the agency and serve as a state witness.
The agency said his testimony could help uncover the alleged system behind the kickback scheme and assist in other cases being prepared in connection with the flood control controversy, including those involving former House Speaker and Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez.
Bonoan had been under hospital arrest at the Philippine National Police General Hospital, while Estrada and the three other accused are currently detained at the Quezon City Jail. (TPM/VoxPop Philippines)