Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima on Sunday welcomed the resignation of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan, hoping that other officials linked to anomalous flood control projects should also have the decency to step down.
She also pointed out this development must not stop the probe into alleged anomalies in flood control projects under Bonoan’s watch.
“We welcome the resignation of Sec. Manuel Bonoan, even though he said yesterday (Saturday) that ‘resignation and avoiding responsibility is not the solution,’” De Lima said in a statement.
According to the legislator, Bonoan’s move is necessary to allow an impartial investigation and introduce reforms in the DPWH. She clarified, however, that stepping down does not free him from accountability.
But De Lima emphasized that Bonoan should not be the only one to go.
“If there are other DPWH officials who still have shame and conscience, and who were either involved or turned a blind eye to these irregularities, they should also resign and reveal what they know. But they, too, must face accountability,” she said.
De Lima warned that the public is tired and angry over repeated flooding and what she described as endless plunder of public funds. “People are watching… PR alone won’t cut it. And we cannot settle for substandard investigations that will eventually collapse and be forgotten,” she added.
What is needed, she said, is concrete action and results. “Those who conspired and treated government projects and programs as a cash cow must be held accountable and jailed—not just for the flood control projects, but for all anomalous undertakings,” De Lima said.
Malacañang announced on Sunday that President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. accepted the resignation of Bonoan effective September 1, after months of ignoring public clamor for him to step down amid an ongoing probe into anomalous flood control projects.
Replacing Bonoan at the DPWH is former Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon, who was directed to implement sweeping organizational reforms in the department due to allegations of corruption, involving its district engineers.
