Dizon: Flood control probe-related docs 'protected' in DPWH Central Office

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon on Thursday said all documents related to the ongoing probe into the flood control corruption scandal are secured in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Central Office in Manila.

At a press conference, Dizon said the fire incident that hit the DPWH-Bureau of Research Standards building in Quezon City on Wednesday will not affect the investigation of the alleged anomalies in flood control projects.

“Right now we have gotten them already from... so we have gotten all [documents] from 2022 to 2025 and we are now receiving earlier years. But they are now all here in the Central Office protected,” the DPWH chief said.

Citing the Bureau of Fire Protection’s initial investigation, Dizon reiterated that no documents related to the flood control mess were affected by the fire incident.

However, the Public Works chief still expressed suspicion about the timing of the fire incident as he stressed that he is “not ruling out” any possibility until the BFP is done with its investigation.

The fire comes as the authorities investigate DPWH-implemented flood control projects in Quezon City and other areas in the country.

Last month, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte reported that 35 flood control projects in the city are missing.

The local government has also reported 331 flood control projects worth P17 billion, of which P7.7 billion are alleged insertions and were not included in the 2024 and 2025 National Expenditure Programs (NEPs).

Electrical failure, not computer explosion

Dizon also corrected the initial finding that the fire originated from a computer unit inside the Materials Testing Division that reportedly exploded.

“The BFP has given its initial result of its investigation, saying that there was an electrical failure in one of the ceilings on the third floor… so this also corrects the initial information that there was a computer unit that exploded,” he said.

“Again, I'm just quoting the Bureau of Fire Protection. So again, it's very important to know the facts that we have now,” he added.

The BFP-National Capital Region said the fire was reported at 12:39 p.m. and reached the third alarm at 12:56 p.m. 

At least 25 fire trucks responded to the scene. The fire was declared out at 1:34 p.m.—AOL, GMA Integrated News