Will Dizon be included in SEA Games probe?

MANILA, Philippines — Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, who is currently on leave, may soon find himself in the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)’s crosshairs, as the agency probes the multibillion-peso infrastructure projects built for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

Before his appointment to the Marcos Cabinet in February 2025 as transportation secretary, Dizon served as president and CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority from 2016 to 2021. Under his leadership, the BCDA oversaw the rapid construction of New Clark City Phase 1A, which housed the main sports facilities utilized in the 2019 SEA Games.

Dizon’s appointment to the BCDA top post has been attributed to Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, former president Rodrigo Duterte’s runningmate in the 2016 national elections. Dizon had served as consultant or political officer of then Senate majority leader Cayetano from 2013 until 2016.

The sports facilities project had sparked a graft and malversation complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman, filed by Diego Magpantay of the Citizens Crime Watch Association Inc.

The complaint alleged that the BCDA unlawfully embedded a build-transfer scheme inside a P4.18-billion joint venture agreement with Malaysian developer MTD Capital Berhad to bypass public bidding.

This resulted in the state-run firm paying MTD Capital Berhad a total of P9.5 billion in cash, which included P8.5 billion for construction costs and over P579 million in one-year financing costs.

Dizon, who took his oath as Department of Public Works and Highways secretary last August, has reportedly been on a leave of absence for the past two weeks, remaining unavailable for comment as the NBI conducts its probe.

The STAR has reached out to Assistant Secretary for stakeholder relations service and communications Michelle de Vera about the nature and length of Dizon’s leave of absence, but she has yet to reply.