DPWH engineers face criminal, tax evasion, administrative raps

MANILA, Philippines — The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has submitted another interim report to the Office of the Ombudsman – its fourth – recommending the filing of criminal and administrative charges against former Bulacan public works engineers and other personnel allegedly behind a P95-million ghost flood control project in Bocaue.

In its report, the ICI recommended to the ombudsman that it file administrative and criminal charges against former chief district engineer Henry Alcantara, and engineers Brice Ericson Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, Ernesto Galang, John Carlo Rivera, John Michael Marcos, Claudine Magdalene Magsakay, Ericka Justine Chico and Allan Payawal, among others, for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Malversation and Falsification provisions of the Revised Penal Code, Presidential Decree No. 1759 and the Government Procurement Reform Act.

The ICI has also recommended that the ombudsman assess whether former public works chief Manuel Bonoan, and former undersecretaries Roberto Bernardo and Maria Catalina Cabral could be held liable for “potential violations” of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

“There are plenty of cases. So we can escalate in the next filing. We can escalate once more evidence come in,” ICI chairman Andres Reyes Jr. said when sought for explanation on why the latest report included the same names as in previous reports.

“We do not want to let the cases pile up and stay here with us. Once we finish, we file right away,” Reyes said.

“We have a lot more cases to file. The findings can escalate against the personalities involved, the cases against Secretary Bonoan etcetera. But right now, we go with the evidence that we have,” Reyes said.

Reyes noted approval of P41 million budget for the ICI would greatly help the body. The ICI, he said, only has 15 lawyers working on the case buildup.

Alcantara, Brice Hernandez and Mendoza, meanwhile, are also facing tax evasion complaints filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) before the Department of Justice over some P1.6 billion in unpaid tax obligations from 2020 to 2024.

The BIR, represented by its commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr., accused Alcantara, Hernandez and Mendoza of violating Section 254 of the National Internal Revenue Code, specifically for their alleged attempt to evade tax liabilities as well as failure to supply correct and accurate information in their income tax returns. — Elizabeth Marcelo, Marco Luis Beech, Delon Porcalla