Bulacan district engineer may be liable for plunder

Former Bulacan first district engineer Henry Alcantara may face plunder and other charges after he told a House congressional inquiry that he certified as complete a P55-million flood control project in Baliwag town that was later found to be non-existent, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said.

Ridon was referring to Alcantara’s admission on Tuesday that he signed the certification of completion for the P55 million flood control project in Barangay Piel without seeing for himself the facility. He admitted negligence on his part, saying he trusted the reports given to him.

Asked by Surigao del Sur Rep. Romeo Momo Sr. if the project in Barangay Piel, Baliwag is a ghost project, Alcantara replied: "I think yes, Your Honor."

“In my mind, as soon as I've seen the documents, and as soon as I've heard the admissions of District Engineer Alcantara, it was clear that the maximum criminal charge that can be filed against Alcantara, the SYMS Construction Trading and others involved in his DPWH District Engineering Office, is plunder,” said Ridon, a lawyer.

“Again, the project amount is P55 million. The plunder threshold is P50 million. If you're the principal of this district engineering office, you have the main responsibility for this particular plunder charge,” he added.  

During the hearing, Alcantara said he relied on his team's inspection report.

"The attachment of the certificate of completion is based on the certificate of final inspection conducted by the team,” Alcantara said.

Plunder, under Republic Act 7080, provides that any public officer who, by himself or in connivance with members of his family, relatives by affinity or consanguinity, business associates, subordinates or other persons, amasses, accumulates or acquires ill-gotten wealth through a combination or series of overt or criminal acts as described in Section 1(d) hereof in the aggregate amount or total value of at least P50 million is guilty of the crime of plunder and should punished by reclusion perpetua.

The same plunder law provides that any person who participated with the said public officer in the commission of an offense contributing to the crime of plunder will likewise be punished for such offense. 

“Aside from the plunder charge, his admission of using fake IDs to enter a casino, he could be also charged for that because government employees are not allowed to go to casino [during office hours],” Ridon said.  

“But again, we know that he is also trying to save himself from the plunder charge. And I would like to state again that I don't think he can escape from that plunder charge,” he added.  

Given Alcantara’s admissions, Ridon said the engineer was clearly not a fall guy.

“How can he be a fall guy when he is the boss of the office? And he was the one who signed the documents, the cheque [for payment to the contractor]. As head of the agency, you cannot pin the ordinary employee down,” Ridon added.    

Ridon, however, clarified that the House will still investigate Sally Nicolas Santos of SYMS Construction Trading, the contractor of the P55 million flood control project in Baliwag, Bulacan that turned out to be a ghost project.   

“We need the testimony of Santos of SYMS because that would give us additional information on whatever happened to the cheques issued as payment to SYMS [for the P55 million project],” Ridon said.  —NB, GMA Integrated News