DPWH’s P95M Phantom Flood Wall: Bonoan’s “No, No, No, No!” and the Great Vanishing Act

Bonoan’s Billion-Peso Vanishing Act: The Flood Wall That Wasn’t

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — November 11, 2025

The Invisible 147-Meter Miracle: A Concrete Structure That Never Was

AYY, mga ka-kweba, gather close. What we have here is not just another bureaucratic hiccup. No, no, no, no! This is the latest metastasis of a cancer that has been eating the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) from the inside out — a P95.04-million flood control project in Bocaue, Bulacan that exists only in the fevered imaginations of falsified documents and the bank accounts of contractors.

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), chaired by former Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes, has just dropped its fourth interim report, and it reads like a coroner’s report on a corpse that was never alive to begin with.

And who stands at the center of this spectral scandal? None other than former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, the man who thundered “Absolutely, on my part, no, no, no, no!” when asked about corruption — a denial so vehement it could power a small barangay. Yet the ICI, with the cold precision of a scalpel, declares his leadership marked by “inexcusable negligence tantamount to fraud” and plunder that happened “right under his nose.” Command responsibility? He admits it. Personal involvement? No, no, no, no!

But let’s not rush to judgment… or rather, let’s rush straight to it, because the evidence is a guillotine waiting to drop.

Ghost Engineering 101: How to Build Nothing and Get Paid Everything

Picture this: a 147-meter concrete slope protection structure along the riverside in Barangay Bambang, Bocaue. According to the Statements of Work Accomplished (SWAs) — those sacred tablets of bureaucratic truth — the project was:

51.5% complete by July 5, 2024
89.7% complete by October 22, 2024
100% complete by January 17, 2025

And yet, when the Commission on Audit (COA) rolled up with their tape measures and cameras? Nothing. No rebar. No concrete. No structure. Not even a sign that said “Future Site of Flood Control Project.” Just the same flood-prone riverbank, mocking the very purpose of the expenditure.

Did the concrete evaporate?
Did the floodwaters wash away the structure before it was built?
Or did the P95.04 million simply teleport into the offshore accounts of Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc. and Beam Team Developer Specialist, Inc.?

The SWAs were signed by a rogues’ gallery of DPWH Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office (DEO) engineers: Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, John Carlo Rivera, and others — all of whom certified progress on a project that never broke ground. And the money? Paid in full.

This isn’t negligence. This is fraud with a government seal.

**Bonoan’s Billion-Peso Vanishing Act: The Flood Wall That Wasn’t**

The Legal Meat Grinder: Charges That Should Haunt Bonoan’s Dreams

Let’s sharpen the blade.

“`html

Charge	Legal Basis	Application to Bonoan
Malversation of Public Funds	Art. 217, Revised Penal Code	Paid P95M for a non-existent project. Presumption of malversation applies when funds are unaccounted for after demand. The COA report is the demand.
Graft and Corrupt Practices	Sec. 3(e), RA 3019	“Gross inexcusable negligence” caused undue injury (P95M lost) and gave unwarranted benefits to contractors. Non-bailable.
Falsification of Public Documents	Art. 171, RPC	Approved payment chain based on falsified SWAs. Even if he didn’t sign them, he enabled the lie.
Plunder – The Nuclear Option	RA 7080	P95M (Bocaue) + P72M (Plaridel) = P167M+. Meets the P50M threshold. A “series of overt criminal acts” under his watch. Reclusion perpetua.

“`

The Estrada v. Sandiganbayan precedent is clear: plunder doesn’t require personal pocket-lining — just a pattern of corruption enabling ill-gotten wealth. And with multiple ghost projects in Bulacan alone, the pattern is glaring.

The “I Didn’t Know” Defense: A Paper Umbrella in a Typhoon

Bonoan will trot out the tired Arias v. Sandiganbayan (1989) defense: “I relied on my subordinates. I didn’t know.”

Let me laugh in legal Tagalog: Hindi yan sapat.

In Arias, the Court said heads of offices aren’t liable for every subordinate’s sin unless there are red flags ignored. But here?

Multiple ghost projects in the same district
Same engineers signing off on both Bocaue and Plaridel
Full payment despite zero physical evidence
COA reports screaming fraud

This isn’t a red flag. This is a red banner the size of the Philippine Arena.

The Supreme Court in Gonzales III v. Office of the President (2014) rejected the “I delegated” excuse when patterns of irregularity exist. Bonoan didn’t just delegate — he abdicated.

When Corruption Drowns the Poor: The Real Human Cost

This isn’t just about P95 million. It’s about:

Lives lost in floods that should have been mitigated
Billions vanished while Bulacan drowns yearly
Public trust eroded to the point of cynicism

Every peso paid to Topnotch and Beam Team was a peso not spent on real flood control. Every falsified SWA was a betrayal of the public. And every “no, no, no, no!” from Bonoan was a slap in the face of accountability.

Drop the Blade: A Call to Arms

The evidence is damning. The law is clear. The only question is: Will justice be another ghost?

To the Ombudsman:
File all charges — administrative, graft, malversation, falsification, and plunder. No half-measures. No plea bargains for the small fish while the shark swims free.

To the Sandiganbayan:
Deny bail. The COA findings are ironclad. This is not a case of doubt — it’s a case of deliberate blindness.

To civil society, the media, the youth:
Monitor this case like hawks. Flood the courts with Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. Geo-tag every DPWH project. Demand live-streamed site inspections. Let no ghost project rise again.

Because if we let this slide, the next flood won’t just take homes — it’ll take hope.

Barok has spoken.
The guillotine is ready.
Will justice finally drop the blade?