AS EACH DAY unfolds with more names of corrupt players in flood control projects, people are unconvinced and await bigger fish to be exposed to assure them that parallel probes being undertaken are not just for show.
At this juncture, people are not convinced that none in the executive department, the legislative biggies and the judicial branch are part of this massive web of graft and corruption.
Each day that new names crop up, denials by those mentioned multiply and so with the risk that those being mentioned would escape to other countries– what with all the wealth they can use to settle comfortably in their hideout. The President must act with dispatch and decisiveness, otherwise he loses his chance of regaining people’s trust and confidence in his leadership.
BONOAN’S ROLE
Like I said in a previous column (https://thephinsider.net/bonoan-cant-feign-innocence/) resigned Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan should not feign innocence or ignorance about the goings on in his department (being among the first appointee of Marcos Jr. in July 2022).
Blue Ribbon Committee chair, Sen. Panfilo Lacson mentioned his involvement with Candaba Mayor Rene Maglanque’s (the poster boy of conflict of interest) family’s construction firm that cornered ₱2.195 billion worth of flood-control contracts in Bulacan.
In the second part of his privilege speech, “Flooded Gates of Corruption”, Lacson bared Maglanque’s ties with Bonoan and former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo — through a property venture that developed the ₱1-billion Wyndham Garden Hotel in Clark, a company owned and run by their children.
“Globalcrete Builders (which Maglanque headed in 2024 and did not divest in)… kumubra ng ₱2.195 billion flood control projects mula 2018 hanggang 2024 sa Bulacan pa lamang,” Lacson said.
Maglanque even boasted about his reach in the industry: “Isa akong malaking kontratista, kilala sa buong Pilipinas na nangongontrata. At bilyon-bilyon ang proyekto ko sa buong Pilipinas.”
Lacson pointed to the ownership structure of MBB (which stands for Maglanque, Bernardo, Bonoan) Global Properties Corp., which built the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Clark.
Its 2024 records listed Macy Monique Maglanque as president, Sunshine M. Bernardo as corporate secretary, and Fatima Gay B. (Bonoan) Dela Cruz as treasurer.
“Kayo na po ang mag-connect the dots,” he added, stressing that the corporate officers were the daughters of the named officials. Lacson also cast doubt on Bonoan’s earlier defense on Bulacan ghost projects being “isolated cases. Ayaw na siguro ni Bonoan na maungkat pa sa imbestigasyon ang Globalcrete,” Lacson said
THE BGC BOYS
Lacson has also opened the lid on the operations of the BGC (Bulacan Group of Contractors) Boys— comprising of recently- removed Henry C. Alcantara, OIC Assistant Regional Director of Region 4A and former Bulacan district engineer using the alias Joseph Castro Villegas; Brice Ericson G. Hernandez, OIC District Engineer of Bulacan 1st, alias Marvin Santos de Guzman; Jaypee D. Mendoza, assistant district engineer, alias Peejay Castro Asuncion; Arjay Domasig, DPWH Engineer II, posing as contractor from SYMS Trading Corp. under the name Sandro Bernardo Park and Edrick San Diego, his real identity. The aliases were used when the BGC Boys met and gambled at the casinos.
The BGC Boys, he revealed, hid behind aliases and fake Land Transportation Office (LTO) driver’s licenses to fund their casino vices.
“They may hide their identities, but having spent practically all my law enforcement years conducting intelligence and investigative work, I know criminals when I see them. No matter how real-looking their IDs are, no matter how long they were able to thrive in the shadows, no one can shield them from the day of reckoning that they deserve,” Lacson declared.
According to PAGCOR documents, the five officials collectively lost ₱950 million in gross casino losses. “Yes, you heard it right—B as in bilyon,” Lacson said. Hernandez alone lost ₱435 million, Mendoza ₱418 million, San Diego ₱42.4 million, Alcantara ₱36.7 million, and Domasig ₱16.9 million.
But the BGC Boys also reported improbable “winning streaks,” with Mendoza claiming P320 million and Hernandez ₱189 million in supposed winnings at Newport World Resorts between August 2023 and April 2024.
“Sinuwete nga kayang sabay-sabay na nanalo ang mga ito, Mr. President? O baka naman money laundering scheme?” Lacson asked. “Magpapalit ng cash into casino chips, pero pag natalo ng kaunti, pupunta sa cashier para mag-cash out at ideklarang panalo ang pinagpalitan nilang chips.”
Casino records showed massive chip transactions: Alcantara wagered ₱1.4 billion, ending with ₱997 million; Hernandez, ₱660 million, ending with ₱1.39 billion; and Mendoza, ₱26.5 million, ending with ₱280 million.
Lacson said the group showed no remorse even after being exposed. “Habang lubog sa baha ang mga taga-Bulacan, sige pa rin ang pagpapasasa ng BGC Boys sa pera ng bayan. Walang kahiya-hiya sa katawan. Wala pong konsensya ang mga ito, Mr. President,” he said, noting that Hernandez was spotted gambling on September 1, 2025—the same day he skipped a Senate Blue Ribbon hearing.
The senator said the BGC Boys could face multiple criminal charges:
- Article 178 of the Revised Penal Code (use of fictitious names),
- R.A. 4136 (Land Transportation and Traffic Code) for using fake licenses,
- P.D. 1869 (PAGCOR Charter) and R.A. 6713 (Code of Conduct for Public Officials) for playing in casinos, and
- R.A. 9160 (Anti-Money Laundering Act, as amended) for laundering plundered funds.
“We urge the AMLC to immediately freeze their bank accounts and pursue prosecution,” Lacson said, adding that his office has already submitted the names and aliases to the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
On top of criminal charges, the officials also face administrative cases, including grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, as well as violations of the Code of Conduct for Public Officials and their professional obligations as licensed engineers under the PRC.
IS USEC CABRAL A FALL GUY?
Lacson presented a “damning piece of evidence” against DPWH Undersecretary Catalina Cabral, who allegedly called up and invited Senate President Vicente Sotto III to make early “insertions” in the 2026 national budget, using a screenshot of her message to Sotto after the latter won the May midterm elections.
He presented the “receipt” after Cabral (a career executive who rose from the ranks) denied making such an offer before the recently-appointed DPWH Secretary Vivencio Dizon, Bonoan’s successor, Inquirer said.
In the purported message, Cabral asked Sotto if he had priority projects for “vetting”—to check for redundancy, overlap, prior funding, correct location and alignment with national government priorities and local projects. “Para masama ko po sa NEP (National Expenditure Program) Sir (So I can include this in the NEP, Sir),” the message quoted by Inquirer read.
“Her words, not mine,” Lacson said. “As the lawyers say—‘res ipsa loquitur’ (The thing speaks for itself).”
BF VILLAGE BLAMES VILLAR
Meanwhile, in Las Pinas, Euan Toralballa, president of BF Resort Village Homeowners Association, blamed the flooding in parts of the neighborhood to the P101.9-M DPWH flood control project that the Villar family claimed credit for during the time of DPWH Secretary (now Senator) Mark Villar.
Toralballa, livestreamed an inspection of the DPWH project on Facebook, highlighting what he said were flaws in its design that caused the flooding in parts of the village and in Brgy. Talon Dos, Las Piñas City.
He added that water from local creeks should flow naturally into the sea and should not be covered or narrowed.
“Ang creek (Tartar Creek, Brgy. Talon Dos) ay natural na daluyan ng tubig, hindi dapat tinakpan at pinakipot,” he said.
A project tarpaulin identified EF Chua Construction Inc. as the contractor and indicated that funding came from the 2025 General Appropriations Act.
The project does not appear on the DPWH monitoring website isumbongmosapangulo.com, though EF Chua Construction has been awarded multiple contracts in recent years, including segments of the River Drive project in Las Piñas, previously championed by former Senator Cynthia Villar.
Public records show that EF Chua Construction has undertaken 32 DPWH projects worth ₱2.24 billion from 2022 to the present, excluding the Tartar Creek project.
In Bacoor, Cavite, the firm secured 12 DPWH projects valued at ₱806.58 million. In Las Piñas, three projects totaling ₱125.3 million are listed on the monitoring site, not including Tartar Creek.