Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said on Wednesday, Sept. 24, that Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) chief Manuel Bonoan is either in cahoots when it comes to the agency's anomalous activities or he's just incompetent.

Lacson said this in response to his cluelessness regarding dismissed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez's admission during the Blue Ribbon panel hearing that all infrastructure projects in Bulacan, from 2019 up to the present, are substandard.

Hernandez said they were forced not to follow specifications or meet quality standards to meet their “obligations” to officials and personalities who demanded a cut from the project budget.

When asked about this during the hearing, Bonoan said that it was his first time hearing about the shenanigans.

"I don't know what to say, your honor, this is the first time that I have heard about this shenanigans that they're doing in this district engineering office," Bonoan said.

Under his watch, he said that they're supposed to provide monitoring reports for every phase of the project.

For Lacson, despite Bonoan's retirement in 2010, he stayed for several years in the DPWH, rising from the ranks, which means he knows what's happening on the ground.

"So alam niya nangyayari sa ibaba then he became secretary of DPWH in 2022. To say hindi niya na-monitor, dalawa ang implication: it's either kasabwat ka o incompetent ka (So he knew what was happening on the ground, then he became Secretary of DPWH in 2022. To say he didn’t monitor it has two implications: either he was in cahoots or he was incompetent)," Lacson said.

"Kasi kung pinull-out ka from the outside bigla kang naging secretary pwedeng napalusutan ka (Because if you were pulled in from the outside and suddenly became secretary, it’s possible that things slipped past you)," he added.

For Lacson, who rose from the ranks before eventually becoming Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, one would gain at least some field experience and awareness of what’s really happening. And when heading an agency, at the very least, one should know how to monitor such shenanigans.

"But if you claim to be surprised by such brazen practices—like rigging, ghost projects, and even the manufacturing of documentary requirements just to collect payments—that’s hard to believe. If you really came from the ground, it’s impossible that these things are only happening now," he said in Filipino.

"That was only uncovered just now, but it’s been happening for a long time," he added.