MANILA (September 12) — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has launched a number of lawsuits against government officials and contractors.
On Thursday, September 11, the DPWH filed complaints with the Ombudsman’s Office against several individuals accused of corruption in flood control projects.
The charges brought against the officials and contractors are as follows:
· Alleged violations of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act
- Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code, or Malversation of Public Funds, in relation to
- Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code, or “Falsification by public officer, employee or notary or ecclesiastic minister”
- Republic Act No. 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act and other applicable laws
Officers from the Bulacan first district engineering office are among those named in the lawsuit. They are:
- Former District Engineer Henry Alcantara
- Former Assistant District Engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez
- Construction Section Chiefs Jaypee Mendoza and John Michael Ramos
- Planning and Design Section Chief Ernesto Galang
- OIC Maintenance Section Chiefs Lorenzo Pagtalunan and Jaime Hernandez
- Quality Assurance Section Chief Norberto Santos
- Administrative Section Chief Floralyn Simbulan
- Finance Section Chief Juanito Mendoza
- Budget Unit Head Roberto Roque
- Procurement Unit Head Benedict Matawaran
- Cashier Christina Mae Pineda
- Project Engineers Paul Jayson Duya, Merg Jaron Laus, Lemuel Ephraim Roque, Arjay Domasig, John Carlo Rivera, John Benex Francisco, and Jolo Mari Tayao
The government also filed complaints against six contractors, including St. Timothy Construction, which Pacifico and Sarah Discaya owns.
“The contractors charged with similar violations of the law are Sally N. Santos of SYMS Construction Trading, Mark Allan V. Arevalo of Wawao Builders, and Ma. Roma Angeline D. Rimando, together with beneficial owner Cezarah Rowena C. Discaya of St. Timothy Construction Corp., and Robert T. Imperio of IM Construction Corp.,” according to the DPWH’s statement.
To ascertain whether there is sufficient grounds to bring charges against the respondents in the Sandiganbayan or the proper court, the agency aims to carry out a preliminary inquiry.
In order to gather financial records and proof, the agency also asked the Ombudsman to subpoena a number of entities such as banks, contractors, and DPWH district offices.
In order to look into any violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, the agency also requested that the Ombudsman protect electronic data and use its power to send parallel forfeiture proceedings to the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
DPWH Findings
“A consistent pattern of fraudulent misrepresentation, falsification, collusion, and blatant disregard of COA (Commission on Audit) regulations” was found by the DPWH’s internal audit service across several contracts in the Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office, according to the complaint.
“The IAS found that certifications of project accomplishment were issued and payments were authorized despite incomplete, defective, or unperformed works. Project logbooks and supporting documents were missing or grossly inadequate,” the complaint read.
Also, “Variation Orders were undated, irregularly processed, or absent. Performance securities and surety bonds were insufficient or improperly verified. Despite these violations, funds were released”.
According to the DPWH, the audit discovered that officials, including Alcantara and his assistant Brice Hernandez, systematically generated and accepted fraudulent papers such as accomplishment reports and certificates of completion, despite obvious faults and missing records.
This conspiracy, which included particular DPWH personnel and contractors such as Wawao Builders, IM Construction Corp., and SYMS Construction Trading, resulted in fraudulent fund disbursements and unwarranted profits for the private companies.
“Through their concerted acts, these officials conspired with contractors (Wawao Builders, IM Construction Corp., SYMS Construction Trading) to facilitate fraudulent fund releases, causing undue damage and injury to the government and granting unwarranted benefits to the contractors,” according to the complaint filed against them.
