Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Monday said the Office of the Ombudsman will ask the Sandiganbayan to discharge former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan from the flood control cases he is facing so he can “testify as a state witness.“

In a press briefing, Remulla said the office has already secured a side agreement for Bonoan’s cooperation as a “cooperating witness” in cases currently pending before the Sandiganbayan.

“We already have a side agreement for the cooperation of former Secretary Manuel Bonoan to be a state witness, to be a cooperating witness,” Remulla said in a press conference.

He added that the Ombudsman will file a petition before the court to have Bonoan discharged as a respondent so he can formally testify for the prosecution.

“We will ask the court to discharge him as a respondent so he can testify for us as a state witness,” he said.

Remulla explained that Bonoan’s insider knowledge of government infrastructure processes would be crucial to building the cases.

“The knowledge that he has of the whole institution is very important to us to be able to prove many cases,” he said.

“There are other people who will be benefiting from his testimony with regard to so many cases we are filing,” he added.

Bonoan is a respondent in cases involving alleged budget insertions and kickback schemes tied to ₱573 million worth of flood control projects.

Meanwhile, Remulla disclosed that among those linked to the investigation is Senator Joel Villanueva, along with eight others described as ‘cong-tractors’ or individuals who are both congressmen and contractors. He said the cases are already in the preliminary investigation stage, but declined to name the other respondents for now.