2 former assistant DPWH engineers sacked

MANILA, Philippines — Two former assistant district engineers in Bulacan have been dismissed from the Department of Public Works and Highways as part of the agency’s crackdown on anomalous flood control projects, DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said yesterday.

Dizon confirmed that summary dismissal proceedings were instituted against former Bulacan first district assistant engineers Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza, along with former district engineer Henry Alcantara.

“Alcantara, Hernandez and Mendoza have been dismissed from the DPWH. For the others, the process of their dismissal has already begun,” Dizon said in Filipino.

The DPWH chief also disclosed that more contractors have been blacklisted for their alleged involvement in irregular projects. These include St. Timothy Construction Corp., SYMS Construction Trading, Wawao Builders and IM Construction Corp., which are among the respondents in the graft complaint the department filed with the Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday.

Mindoro projects

The DPWH will file fresh cases next week against officials and contractors linked to alleged ghost and substandard flood control projects, Secretary Dizon announced on Friday.

At a press conference, Dizon said the cases will involve projects in Oriental Mindoro. He added that Gov. Humerlito Dolor has agreed to join him in filing the complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman.

“This will be the second case we are filing. Our lawyers and team are already preparing it. The first batch was only the beginning,” Dizon said.

President Marcos earlier ordered the creation of an Infrastructure Commission of Inquiry (ICI) to investigate questionable projects over the past 10 years, including those implemented during previous administrations.

While waiting for the ICI to begin its work, Dizon said the DPWH has already secured project documents nationwide and will “fast-track accountability.”

Apart from filing criminal complaints, Dizon said the department will also pursue civil actions to recover public funds. This includes enforcing bonds, warranties and securities from contractors, some of which are valid for up to five years.

Dizon said he will meet with the Anti-Money Laundering Council on Monday to initiate asset-tracing efforts against individuals involved.

Criminal raps

For his part, Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla said his office would be filing criminal cases against several DPWH officials and private contractors “very soon” in connection with the anomalous flood control projects.

Remulla said the National Bureau of Investigation has started transmitting to his office its findings on its ongoing investigation on the government’s alleged ghost and substandard flood control projects.

“The NBI is giving me findings already about the ghost projects, and we will be filing cases very soon. We are looking if we can file plunder, we’ll see. But malversation, for sure,” Remulla said.

Republic Act 7080 or the Anti-Plunder Law requires the amassing of ill-gotten wealth of at least P50 million for the crime to be considered as plunder.

Meanwhile, Remulla admitted that he is personally against turning Cezarah Discaya and her husband Pacifico into state witnesses for the prosecution of government officials and private contractors in connection with the flood control anomaly.

“Under the Whistleblower Act, to be included (in the Witness Protection Program) there are certain conditions, and among the conditions is the restitution [of the amount stolen], and not only that, you must also tell the whole truth, not selective,” Remulla said.

He said that since it appears that the Department of Justice (DOJ) cannot get the whole truth from the Discaya spouses, he personally voiced out to newly sworn in Senate President Vicente Sotto III his opposition to turning them into state witnesses.

“I told the Senate President that personally, I do not want to give them that (state witness) status. Because they are not forthcoming. A state witness should really tell the whole truth, you cannot be selective with your testimony,”Remulla said.

Asked if the DOJ could instead consider Hernandez and the other projects engineers of DPWH Bulacan DEO to be state witnesses, Remulla said the DOJ will study the possibility.

“We will evaluate everybody. We will evaluate that (proposal).  We have several laws that concern whistleblowers, among them the Whistleblowers Act, and of course, the Rules of Court and other jurisprudence on state witnesses,” Remulla said.

Clarification

Hernandez was telling the truth when he said during a Senate hearing that his wife worked for the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), his lawyer said on Friday.

In a statement, lawyer Ernest Levanza said Hernandez’s current wife Rica was indeed employed at GSIS.

Levanza explained that the confusion arose from people mixing up Rica with Hernandez’s former wife, Mel Clarisse Sto. Domingo, whose marriage with Hernandez was annulled.

“Brice and Rica got married in 2023 and remain together to this day. We hope this clears the air and puts an end to the confusion,” Levanza said.

Hernandez is currently facing a contempt citation by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee after testifying on alleged kickbacks in flood control projects in Bulacan. — Elizabeth Marcelo