Ex-DPWH engineer Jaypee Mendoza cited in contempt

Dismissed Bulacan first district assistant engineer Jaypee Mendoza has been cited in contempt by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee due to what it deemed unsatisfactory explanations of his involvement in ghost projects.

During the committee hearing on Thursday, Mendoza claimed he didn’t know about ghost projects and that he only found out about it through the news.

He also denied having conversations with SYMS Construction Trading owner and manager Sally Santos.

Senator Raffy Tulfo said Mendoza had been named by several resource persons.

“Kanina pa po tayo pinapaikot-ikot ni Jaypee Mendoza eh, magkakasabwat naman… Nagsisinungaling ka nanaman. Nanumpa ka kanina na you will tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. Ngayon, nagsisinungaling ka,” he said.

(Jaypee Mendoza has been manipulating us since earlier, when they’re all working together… He’s lying again. You swore earlier that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. Now, you’re lying.)

When asked to explain why he should not be cited in contempt, Mendoza said that they used in-house contractors or licenses to create false projects for funding that they would share.

He also said that they began creating ghost projects as only small profits were left behind by actual projects.

“Tuloy-tuloy naman po ginagawa… Sa laki nga po ng obligasyon, kaya minsan [maliit] lang inaabot na trabaho kasi kung makikita nga po natin sa breakdown, 25-30% ang sa proponent. Babawasan ng tax ng 7%, mag-SOP sa opisina ng 8.5%, magbibidding ng 6%, may bayad po sa testing ng 1%, magroroyalty ka pa po ng 3%, may overhead ka pa po… Kung tutuusin niyo po, parang nasa 22-point-something nalang po yung matitira sa project,” he added.

(The projects are still ongoing… With how big the obligations are, sometimes the profit from the work [is small] because if we check the breakdown, 25-30% are for the proponent. If you remove the 7% tax, 8.5% office SOP, 6% bidding, 1% payment for the testing, 3% royalties, and the overhead… If you consider it, only 22-point-something will be left from the project.)

Former Bulacan first district engineer Henry Alcantara had raised the issue of how other contractors were still able to finish their jobs, and reiterated that he was not involved.

Senator Raffy Tulfo rejected explanations issued by both Mendoza and Alcantara, citing that the latter was the DPWH Bulacan chief and that it was impossible for him to have no idea on the illegal ghost projects.

“Limpak-limpak na pera na ini-impak, sana tinanong mo saan galing itong mga ito? Napakarami naman. Hulog ng langit ang pera na iyon, so it must have come from somewhere. It must have come from somewhere na illegal… Huwag mong sabihin at huwag kang magmamalinis dito na sila lang, puro sila din naman. Ikaw ang hepe. Dapat doon pa lang kagad na nakita mo napakaraming pera, you would have stopped them,” he said.

(Stacks on stacks of money being stashed away, you could have asked where all of this came from? There’s too much. This type of money is god-sent, so it must have come from somewhere. It must have come from somewhere illegal… Don’t say and don’t pretend to be clean like it’s just them. You are the chief. You could have stopped them the moment you saw that there was too much money.)

Tulfo recommended for the engineers to be stripped of their licenses under the Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC) for conduct unbecoming of their oath, and called for Mendoza’s contempt order. 

Earlier, both Henry Alcantara and Curlee Discaya have been cited for contempt by the committee in the same hearing. — BM, GMA Integrated News