But it will not be Emmanuel “Noel" Bonoan whose presidency of one of the country's most influential business groups was officially announced just over two weeks ago.
Bonoan – a certified public accountant and a lawyer, a former Undersecretary of the Department of Finance, a 2004 TOYM awardee, and the current head of KPMG R.G. Manabat – had withdrawn from the MAP's presidency in a bid to insulate the group from his “personal issues”.
This was confirmed to InsiderPH by parties involved in an emergency MAP board meeting held yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, to discuss a complaint letter lodged by nine women's rights advocates alleging Bonoan's involvement in a “violence against women and children" criminal compliant.
The letter's nine signatories said this made Bonoan unfit to head “a reputable organization whose leaders wield significant influence within and beyond the business community.”
Separately, women's rights advocacy group Gabriela also write the MAP leadership urging the group to take action against Bonoan and his impending presidency.
Because of this, incumbent MAP president Rene Almendras convened the current MAP board on Wednesday to hear the side of Bonoan, who had already served as the group's vice president for the last two years without this complaint ever being made public.
InsiderPH spoke to Bonoan earlier and he pointed out that his estranged wife, Janina Arriola Bonoan, had actually withdrawn the complaint just a few months after filing it. The sworn affidavit of desistance was filed in July 2020, just six months after she lodged her original complaint.
Because of this, there is actually no complaint to speak of and the letter of the women's rights advocates to the MAP thus had no basis from a legal standpoint, he pointed out.
While saying that his marriage had been challenging, he stressed that he had always made it a point to keep his personal life separate from his professional and public life.
Adverse information about Bonoan's marriage from four years ago began to surface last week soon after it was revealed that he was elected as the business group's next president.
The current MAP board is expected to convene again over the next few days in order to redo the election process for its 2025 board and president, we hear.
Senior Reporter
