Cases filed vs 20 DPWH officials, 4 contractors
Department of Public Works and Highways Sec. Vince Dizon has filed criminal complaints against officials of the Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office and four private contractors linked to anomalous flood control projects.
The cases, submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman on Sept. 11, charge the DPWH officials and contractors with violating Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corruption Practices Act), Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code (Malversion of Public Funds), in relation to Articles 171 of the RPC, and Republic Act No. 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act).
"Lahat ng kailangang managot ay dapat managot," Dizon said, quoting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s statement during his fourth State of the Nation Address where he called out corruption in flood control projects.
"Kahit kilala niya, kaibigan niya, kaalyado niya, lahat dapat managot. Simula pa lang po ito habang wala pa ang Independent Commission na itatayo pa lamang ng Pangulo," he added.
Among the DPWH officials who were charged were former District Engineer Henry C. Alcantara, former Assistant District Engineer Brice Ericson D. Hernandez, Construction Section Chief Jaypee D. Mendoza and John Michael E. Ramos, Planning and Design Section Chief Ernesto C. Galang, OIC Maintenance Section Chief Lorenzo A. Pagtalunan and Jaime R. Hernandez, Quality Assurance Section Chief Norberto L. Santos, Administrative Section Chief Floralyn Y. Simbulan, Finance Section Juanito C. Mendoza; Budget Unit Head Roberto A. Roque; Procurement Unit Head Benedict J. Matawaran, Cashier Christina Mae D. Pineda, Project Engineers Paul Jayson F. Duya, Merg Jaron C. Laus, Lemuel Ephraim C. Roque, Arjay S. Domasig, John Carlo C. Rivera, John Benex S. Francisco, and Engr. Jolo Mari V. Tayao.
Meanwhile, contractors Sally N. Santos of SYMS Construction Trading, Mark Allan V. Arevalo of Wawao Builders, Ma. Roma Angeline D. Rimando and Sarah Discaya of St. Timothy Construction Corporation, and Robert T. Imperio of IM Construction Corporation also face criminal complaints.
Dizon said that the cases filed on Sept. 11 only cover five flood control projects so far.
"Marami pa pong complaint sa mga susunod na linggo," he continued.
Dizon was appointed as DPWH chief after former secretary Manuel Bonoan stepped down from his post amid the probe into the agency's flood control projects.
In his first four days as public works secretary, Dizon fired Bulacan 1st District Engineer Henry Alcantara, who's among the respondents, over anomalous projects in the province.
Alcantara approved several flood control projects, including a P55 million reinforced concrete river wall in Brgy. Piel in Baliuag, which Marcos inspected and said was a ghost project. The district engineer also signed contracts for questionable flood projects with Discaya's St. Timothy Construction Corporation worth P94.6 million and with Wawao Builders worth P74.6 million.
Dizon said on Sept. 4 that Wawao Builders and Syms Construction Trading are permanently blacklisted amid the issue. Other contractors of ghost projects will also face an "automatic perpetual ban," he added.
Massive flooding in July
The issue in the government's flood control projects began in July as the rains triggered massive flooding in the metro. At the time, Sen. Ping Lacson told dzBB that since 2011, about P1 trillion allocated for flood control projects may have been lost to corruption.
Marcos, in his fourth State of the Nation Address, called out government officials involved in the would-be corruption in flood control projects.
Marcos ordered the DPWH to "immediately submit" to him the list of flood control projects from every region that were started and completed in the last three years. He said a project monitoring committee will evaluate this list to determine the failures, as well as the unfinished and ghost projects.
Days later, Marcos launched the Sumbong sa Pangulo website, where the public can track and report anomalous flood control projects and other possible corrupt practices.
According to the website, there are 9,855 flood control projects totalling P545.64 billion since July 2022. Of that number, 6,021 projects worth over P350 billion don't specify the exact type of flood control being built, while several others in different locations also have the same contract cost.
