By Benjamin Pulta
MANILA – Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel Bonoan must secure permission from the courts before he can be allowed to go abroad, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Fredderick Vida said on Wednesday.
Vida made this remark after the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) issued a precautionary hold departure order against Bonoan, one of the officials linked to anomalous flood control projects.
“So, with that, any permit or any allowance for you to travel, kailangan na ng (it needs) court process,” Vida said in a media interview.
Vida clarified that it is not for the DOJ to decide whether to allow Bonoan to travel “because travel is basically a personal liberty.”
On Monday, Bonoan filed a counter-affidavit before prosecutors in response to a plunder complaint over alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
Bonoan claimed he had been granted permission to travel by the DOJ to visit his ailing wife, who will undergo surgery this month in the United States.
Vida pointed out that Bonoan may be a flight risk because he did not fully comply with the conditions set in his previous permit to travel abroad.
“Hinihingi namin yung itinerary niya, saan siya pupunta. And of course, nagkaroon ng konting issue doon kasi hindi naman siya bumalik sa original date, duon sa pinangako niya (We asked for his itinerary, where he was going. And of course, there was a little issue there because he didn’t return on the original date, as he promised,” he explained.
Under the law, plunder is committed by a public official who amasses at least PHP75 million in ill-gotten wealth through a series of criminal acts.
Bonoan’s co-accused include Senator Jinggoy Estrada, former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, former regional director Gerard Opulencia, and former district engineer Henry Alcantara. (PNA)
