BACOLOD City Lone District Representative Alfredo Abelardo Benitez called on Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan to resign amid the flood control project controversy.
“Mahiya ka naman (You should be ashamed). Resign now,” Benitez said in a statement released on Wednesday, August 20, 2025.
This came after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. inspected the Bulacan flood control project and revealed that a project marked as completed by the DPWH had yet to be constructed.
Benitez said the principle of command responsibility demands that the secretary step down.
"If something as basic as this has been overlooked, who knows how many more critical projects are in a similar state," Benitez said.
He added that this poses a danger to communities who depend on these projects to keep them safe.
The lawmaker noted that, as the President said in his State of the Nation Address (Sona), “Mahiya ka naman,” the DPWH secretary should resign now.
Benitez said whoever takes over from Bonoan should continue the comprehensive audit of all flood control projects and identify questionable and substandard structures.
He said that based on DPWH documents, the 220-meter structure in Baliuag was supposed to begin last February. Records also showed the project was fully paid, but there was no evidence that work had already begun.
Marcos earlier announced that 20 percent of the total budget, or roughly P100 billion, for flood control projects went to only 15 contractors.
The 15 contractors include Legacy Construction Corporation; Alpha & Omega Gen. Contractor & Development Corp.; St. Timothy Construction Corporation; QM Builders; EGB Construction Corporation; Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc.; Centerways Construction and Development Inc.; Sunwest, Inc.; Hi-Tone Construction & Development Corp.; Triple 8 Construction & Supply, Inc.; Royal Crown Monarch Construction & Supplies Corp.; Wawao Builders; MG Samidan Construction; L.R. Tiqui Builders, Inc.; and Road Edge Trading & Development Services. (MAP)