Palace: Sandiganbayan's decision to drop Bonoan's case beyond President's power

Malacañang on Wednesday distanced itself from the Sandiganbayan’s decision to drop the graft cases against former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, saying President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had no power over the court. In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro reiterated that Marcos wanted accountability. “Kung ano po ang naging desisyon dito ng Sandiganbayan, iyan po ay hindi na po saklaw ng kapangyarihan ng ating Pangulo. Sila po ay parte ng judiciary at may separation of powers po tayong tinatawag," Castro said. (Whatever decision the Sandiganbayan made is beyond the power of the President. The court is part of the judiciary, and we have what we call the separation of powers. "So, kung ano po ang naging dahilan nila at nakita nila kung ano ang mga valid reasons kung bakit nila drinop ang cases laban kay dating Secretary Manny Bonoan,” she added. (So, whatever reasons the court saw as valid for dropping the cases against former Secretary Manny Bonoan.) Tthe Sandiganbayan Fifth Division earlier granted the Ombudsman’s motion to drop Bonoan from the plunder and graft charges involving former Senator Jinggoy Estrada. Voting 2-1, the justices of the Sandiganbayan division said it was within the Ombudsman’s “prosecutorial discretion” to determine which accused it would use as a state witness. According to Castro, it was up to the Sandiganbayan to assess and evaluate the case, adding that Marcos would respect the court’s decision. She also said the Ombudsman may have had valid reasons for dropping the charges against Bonoan. “Ayoko pong pangunahan ang Ombudsman, pero mayroon sila sigurong nakita na mas kakailanganin nilang maging witness ang isang secretary o dating Secretary Manny Bonoan,” Castro said. (I do not want to get ahead of the Ombudsman, but they may have seen that they would need Secretary Manny Bonoan, a former secretary, to testify as a witness.) Castro also said there was no contradiction between Bonoan’s recent statement that Marcos had asked him to resign and his initial statement in 2025 that he resigned because of command responsibility. “So, nagkausap sila, at mas maramdaman siguro ni Secretary Manny Bonoan, at that time, na ang tiwala ng Pangulo ay nawala dahil nga command responsibility niya ito,” Castro said. (So, they talked, and perhaps Secretary Manny Bonoan felt at that time that the President’s trust had been lost because of his command responsibility.)— MCG, GMA News