Probe Isabela road project, ombudsman asked

MANILA, Philippines — Former mayor Manuel Siquian of Angadanan, Isabela has filed a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with an alleged anomalous road project in the province.

“The... project was highly overpriced and the property was illegally acquired by the Dy family even if the area is... a public domain,” Siquian said, referring to former Isabela governor Faustino Dy Jr.

Siquian said the Office of the President endorsed his complaint to the ombudsman in a letter dated July 25 and signed by director Jaime Mabilin. 

The former mayor said the Development Bank of the Philippines released P1.38 billion to the provincial government in four tranches from March 2016 to March 2018 for the construction of an 82-kilometer road from Ilagan City to Divilacan, where the Dy family’s property dubbed Honeymoon Island is located.

Siquian said the acquisition of the property violated a Letter of Instruction issued by the late president Ferdinand Marcos that declared the 45-kilometer radius from Palanan Point as wilderness. Honeymoon Island is only four kilometers from Palanan Point.

He said P20 million was spent per kilometer even though the normal cost was only around P5 million. He said the payment was released even though the project was “half-completed.”