Sacked DPWH engineer leaves House custody

MANILA, Philippines — One of the three Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers who spilled the beans on the multibillion-peso flood control corruption has sought permission from the House of Representatives leadership to visit his family over the weekend.

Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, presiding chairman of the House infrastructure committee, confirmed that dismissed Bulacan first district assistant engineer Jaypee Mendoza left the protective custody of the chamber on Sept. 12.

“He expressed his wish to be with his family at this time,” Ridon said.

During the infra comm hearing last week, Mendoza requested congressmen for security as he disclosed receiving a death threat from a certain “hitman.”

He is one of the four contractors facing a graft complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman in relation to anomalous flood control projects in Bulacan.

“The House infrastructure committee, nonetheless, hopes that Mendoza will continue to appear in future committee hearings to provide further information relevant to the ongoing inquiry,” Ridon said.

Mendoza, former Bulacan first district engineer Henry Alcantara and assistant engineer Brice Hernandez have all been dismissed from the DPWH.

Leader and 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan welcomed the creation of an Independent Commission for Infrastructure, which he said will do a good job of weeding endemic bureaucratic government corruption.

“We expect the fact-finding commission to leave no stone unturned – to follow the money, unmask the perpetrators, and recommend the filing of charges against every official and private contractor involved in the plunder of public infrastructure funds,” he said.