DPWH to sue execs, contractors linked to Oriental Mindoro flood control anomalies

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said Friday that criminal cases will be filed against Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials and contractors allegedly involved in the anomalous flood control projects in Oriental Mindoro.

At a press conference, Dizon said the second batch of complaints will be filed by the DPWH Wednesday next week. 

“We will be filing similar cases but now against the people involved both within DPWH and the contractors involved in the Oriental Mindoro projects that we saw for ourselves,” the new DPWH chief said. 

On Thursday, the DPWH filed a graft complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman against 20 officials of the agency and four contractors over anomalous flood control projects.

Some of the respondents were St. Timothy Construction Corporation, represented by Sarah Discaya, former DPWH district engineer Henry Alcantara, and former Bulacan 1st district assistant engineers Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza.

Oriental Mindoro

In Oriental Mindoro, Dizon said they will file a case against construction companies behind the substandard flood control projects, including Sunwest Inc., as well as the Discaya-linked companies St. Timothy Construction Corporation and Elite General Contractor and Development Corporation. 

He noted that the Sunwest contracted five packages in the province, while St. Timothy and Elite had one package each. 

Asked for information regarding the DPWH personnel who will be charged, Dizon said, “Malalaman po natin next week (we’ll know next week).”

Earlier this week, Dizon went to Oriental Mindoro to inspect the anomalous projects in the province, but failed to locate at least three projects that were listed in the 2024 national budget.

Listed in the 2024 General Appropriations Act were:

• Construction of road dike/esplanade along Panggalaan River (left side), Naujan, Oriental Mindoro worth P300 million,
• Construction of road dike/esplanade along Panggalaan River (right side), Naujan, Oriental Mindoro worth P250 million, and
• Construction of road dike along Mag-asawang Tubig River, Sitio Dike, Brgy. Apitong Section worth P200 million

But these alleged projects were nowhere to be found. 

On August 20, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson also delivered a privilege speech regarding the irregularities in the construction of flood control projects in Oriental Mindoro where the name of a member of the House of Representatives figured. 

Freezing of assets, return of public funds

Also on Friday, Dizon announced that he will be meeting with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) on Monday to discuss the possible freezing and eventual forfeiture of assets of those involved in the questionable flood control projects.

“Importante po ito, kailangan kong i-emphasize, dahil hindi sapat ‘yung makulong. Hindi sapat ‘yung managot. Kailangan ibalik ang pera ng tao… Bilyon-bilyon ang pinaguusapan natin dito na mga proyekto. Kailangan ibalik ang perang ‘yan at ‘yan din ang gagawin natin,” he added. 

(This is important, I have to emphasize, because it's not enough for the people involved to be imprisoned. It's not enough to hold them accountable. The money of the people needs to be returned... We're talking about billions of projects here. We need to return that money and that's what we're going to do.) 

Blacklisting

Dizon further noted that the DPWH is currently processing the blacklisting of the construction companies of contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya. 

“Nag-blacklist na rin kami ng ilang contractor—alam ko ang Wawao at ang SYMS. Ongoing na rin ang process of blacklisting nung mga kumpanya ng Discaya,” Dizon said. 

(We’ve blacklisted some contractors—I think Wawao and SYMS. The process of the blacklisting of the Discaya companies is also ongoing.) 

Last week, the DPWH said it has imposed a lifetime ban on contractors Wawao Builders and SYMS Construction Trading that were behind the reported ghost projects in Bulacan. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News