Dizon sees swift DOJ, Ombudsman action on flood control mess

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon on Wednesday expressed confidence that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman will swiftly file cases against those behind the alleged flood control kickback scheme.

Dizon was responding to an earlier statement by Palace Press Officer and Undersecretary Claire Castro, who said the DOJ and the Ombudsman are overwhelmed by the volume of work needed to prosecute those involved, with transactions under scrutiny possibly reaching up to P1 trillion.

“It is understandable that they are overwhelmed because we submitted a lot of documents—both the DPWH and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI),” Dizon said in an interview on Balitanghali.

“But we have extreme confidence in the abilities of Ombudsman Boying Remulla and DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla,” he added.

“We just need to watch out for the cases that they will file next week,” Dizon said.

Dizon also expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), a body created by Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to investigate those allegedly involved in the flood control controversy.

“I have yet to see their final report, but in the last six months, they have accomplished a lot,” he said.

The ICI has been in operation for six months, with its tenure ending on March 31. However, ICI chairperson Andres Reyes Jr. said the body functioned as a collegial body for only 90 days.

During that period, it submitted nine referrals covering 65 individuals to the Ombudsman and convened a technical working group involving 20 agencies for asset recovery.

Before the end of its tenure, the ICI turned over its findings to the Ombudsman and the DOJ.

So far, Ombudsman prosecutors have filed three batches of cases since the flood control probe was launched in September 2024:

• Malversation and graft charges against former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co and at least 15 others over the alleged P289-million substandard road dike project in Oriental Mindoro;
• Malversation and graft charges against contractor Sarah Discaya and several others over the alleged P96.5-million ghost flood control project in Davao Occidental; and
• Malversation and graft charges against former Senator Bong Revilla, former Department of Public Works and Highways Bulacan assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez, and five others over the alleged P92.8-million ghost flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan.

'Where’s the final report?'

Sen. Imee Marcos on Wednesday urged the government to make public the final report on the alleged flood control anomalies.

Marcos, sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., cited Section 8 of Executive Order No. 94, which created the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), stating that “the ICI shall cause the publication of its accomplishments and such other relevant reports.”

“What could be more relevant than the final report itself?” Marcos said in a statement.

“Full transparency is the only way for the ICI—and perhaps this administration—to redeem themselves from their dismal handling of the flood control mess,” she added.

The senator also said the ICI should release transcripts of its proceedings and documents submitted by resource persons to provide context to the final report.

“Para que pang itinatag ang ICI kung itatago lang ang report, walang ilalantad na buwayang mastermind, at tuloy-tuloy lang ang pangungurakot habang nalulunod sa baha at hirap ang sambayanan?” she said.

(Why was the body created if the report will only be hidden, no mastermind exposed, and corruption allowed to continue while the public suffers from floods and hardship?)—MCG, GMA News