Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan appeared before the Sandiganbayan Second Division on Tuesday for a hearing on the prosecution’s bid to drop the graft case against him and admit him as a state witness.
State prosecutors filed a Motion for Leave to File Amended Information on June 29, seeking Bonoan’s exclusion from the graft case.
Senator Jinggoy Estrada is among Bonoan’s co-accused in the case pending before the court’s Second Division.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said Bonoan had agreed to become a state witness and that his institutional knowledge would help the anti-graft body “prove many cases.”
Bonoan is also facing a plunder charge involving P573 million alongside Estrada before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division.
State prosecutors have likewise filed a motion before the Fifth Division seeking to amend the case information and remove Bonoan from the plunder case.
Because of the pending motion, the arraignment of Estrada and Bonoan, initially scheduled for Tuesday, June 30, was moved to July 28.