ICI slams ‘widespread’ destruction of DPWH documents

MANILA, Philippines — The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has denounced “widespread destruction and tampering” of official documents related to its investigation on anomalous flood control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

“Such acts constitute not only a blatant obstruction of ongoing investigations but also a direct assault on the public’s right to transparency and accountability,” ICI chairman and retired associate justice Andres Reyes Jr. said yesterday in a statement.

“The deliberate concealment or alteration of records undermines the rule of law and weakens the people’s trust in government institutions tasked to safeguard public resources,” he added. Reyes did not provide details.

The retired justice emphasized that DPWH records are public property that cannot be destroyed, falsified or concealed. Such acts, he said, carry both administrative and criminal liabilities.

“The Commission calls upon all DPWH officials and employees to fully cooperate and preserve the integrity of all documents and evidence under their custody,” Reyes said.

“The ICI remains steadfast in its mandate to uncover the truth behind anomalous flood control projects and ensure that those responsible are held accountable,” the commission said.

Yesterday, the ICI invited Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson to shed light on the congressional budget process, where alleged insertions were made to fund flood mitigation projects.

“The original sin is Congress,” Lacson, who also serves as Senate Blue Ribbon committee chairman, told reporters. “District engineering offices won’t play with anything without budget insertions.”

He stressed the importance of more careful fund allocation for infrastructure projects to prevent further corruption.

“We should exercise self-restraint,” Lacson said, apparently addressing fellow lawmakers. “We should not insert funds for local infrastructure projects that are at the district level, which could provide resources for corruption.”

During the meeting, which began at past 1 p.m., the two senators presented 13 folders of documents that allegedly revealed a scheme of tampering and falsification within district engineering offices.

“I was able to brief them on how the procedures are done… They wanted to find out how these insertions are done so I explained to them how it’s done: sometimes there are individual amendments, institutional amendments, insertions… but pinakamasama lahat pag may (the worst of all is if there is) insertion in the bicam,” Sotto told reporters after the meeting.

“I think they were very receptive of the information I was giving. Of course it’s best for the ICI to have a context of how legislation is done and how insertions are incorporated… illegal insertions,” he added.

Sotto said the ICI also asked about the “small committee” created during budget deliberations, and whether minutes from those meetings could be accessed.

He added that the commission appeared to be looking at the broader history of budget amendments, not just in 2025.

“I think they’re looking at the overall picture. It’s not confined to just 2025. They’re looking at how it culminated into this huge amount of insertions that went to ghost projects,” he said.

The Senate leader also said reforms are being considered for the 2026 budget, including stricter oversight mechanism for the bicameral conference committee.

“We will make sure if ever there is a necessity for a smaller bicam… we will still make it open to the public. Live-streaming, open,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Sotto and Lacson also met with Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla at the Senate.

The discussion, Sotto said, was about the Senate Blue Ribbon committee’s next hearing on the flood control controversy, especially on possibly endorsing some personalities for the Witness Protection Program.

He said their meeting with Remulla was chiefly a “consultation on the witnesses that we have, the resource persons that we have, the persons in contempt and what are the plans in the next few days as far as the hearing is concerned.”

On the WPP issue, Sotto said Remulla mentioned names who might be considered for the program. He did not provide details.

Lacson, meanwhile, warned former Bulacan first district assistant engineer Brice Hernandez that his legislative immunity could be revoked if he does not surrender his computer, which may contain damning evidence against several personalities linked to the flood control scandal.

CIDG intervened? Brice computer goes to ICI

Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Gen. Mao Aplasca confirmed that Hernandez backed out of the scheduled retrieval at the last minute last Saturday, despite an earlier authorization from the Senate to return to his residence in Bulacan from 6 a.m to 6 p.m. to collect documents and computer files.

Lacson revealed that operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) appeared unannounced and followed Hernandez and his Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms escorts.

“This was entirely a Senate operation and this was done upon the request of the person himself so we didn’t need any search warrant because it’s voluntary,” Lacson told reporters.

“So there emerged the glitch. We have to find who gave the orders to the CIDG men,” he added.

Hernandez returned to the Senate later that evening without the computer.

His lawyer Raymond Fortun said they decided to turn over the computer to the ICI.

“Everything that can qualify as evidence – records of projects, proponents, and amounts involved – are in this computer. This is where Brice’s claims of SOPs and profit sharing in these projects can be substantiated,” Fortun told radio dzBB.

Lawmakers named in computer file

He added: “Inside Brice’s computer are the names of proponents, and among them are certain personalities. I will say this much: there are senators, there are congressmen.

Meanwhile, civil society organization Nature Watch is urging the ICI to include in its investigation a P48.1-million flood control project in Nueva Vizcaya, for alleged overpricing and conflict of interest.

The project, awarded to Citrus Country Construction, involves 300 meters of slope protection in San Fernando, Bambang. — Neil Jayson Servallos, Artemio Dumlao