DPWH exec quits amid alleged contractor ties

MANILA, Philippines — Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Arrey Perez resigned from his post yesterday hours after Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Leviste accused him of having ties with contractors.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon confirmed Perez’s irrevocable resignation in a press conference in Clark, Pampanga.

“He does not want to be a burden and a distraction because he knows how heavy our work is, so he tendered his irrevocable resignation I accepted it,” Dizon said.

Dizon clarified they will still investigate Perez despite the latter’s resignation.

Perez was among those Dizon brought to the DPWH as his undersecretaries, alongside Rico Bernabe, Nicasio Conti, lawyer Raffy Turgano and retired police generals Arthur Bisnar and Charles Calima.

Dizon lamented that based on rumors, they lost an honest and hardworking official in Perez, who once served as chief regulatory officer of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.

While he welcomed Leviste’s initiative, Dizon maintained that allegations of wrongdoing should be based on facts and not mere gossip.

“We cannot hold anyone accountable if the basis of our actions are rumors,” Dizon said.

The public works chief said Perez was doing well in the private sector but did not hesitate when he asked him to join his team in reforming the DPWH.

“He sacrificed when he joined the government. His salary was already high in the MVP Group, but that’s life,” Dizon said.

Dizon is not discounting the possibility that he would be the next target of baseless rumors but stressed it will not stop him from putting an end to corrupt practices in the DPWH.

He said there is nothing irregular if DPWH officials would talk to contractors as it is part of functions in the department.

“If there are DPWH personnel asking kickbacks from contractors, then I’m sorry but they will be made accountable,” he said.

Internal probe

Leviste, also the vice chairman of the House appropriations committee, earlier urged Dizon to require all members of his team, including himself, to reveal the names of contractors that they know and met to attain transparency in infrastructure projects of the DPWH.

While maintaining that his purpose is to come up with policy solutions to eradicate corruption in DPWH and not resort to personalities, Leviste said he is compelled to name, as challenged by Dizon on Thursday, one DPWH official which Dizon may do a background check on.

“First of all, my agenda in my press briefing yesterday is to call on Secretary Dizon to revise the 2026 DPWH budget. It is not my intention to make the criticism personal to the members of his team in DPWH,” Leviste told radio dzMM.

Leviste also mentioned that during his press conference, he said that some members of Dizon’s team have connections with the contractors and not necessarily contractors themselves.

“That is why my request to Secretary Dizon is to let all of them disclose their connections with the contractors. I urged Secretary Dizon to lower the prices of the projects of DPWH to eradicate kickbacks,” Leviste said.

Leviste said that there are contractors, connected with DPWH officials, who are themselves taking part in the writing of the national budget.

He said the DPWH has a plan to conduct the bidding of projects in the DPWH central office instead of in district engineering offices, and will be headed by Perez. — Jose Rodel Clapano