The Sandiganbayan has ordered the release of former Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan, September 3, 2026.
This is after the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division dropped him as a co-accused in plunder and graft cases linked to the alleged flood control kickback scheme.
The court already directed the Philippine National Police Health Service General Hospital to release Bonoan.
The ruling came after his lawyer, Atty. Stefanie Ong, asked the court to release him during the arraignment of Senator Jinggoy Estrada.
The Office of the Ombudsman sought to remove Bonoan from the cases so he could potentially become a state witness in other investigations into the alleged flood control corruption.
However, Bonoan still faces a separate graft case before the Sandiganbayan Second Division, which previously rejected the prosecution’s request to remove him as Estrada’s co-accused.