Sandigan upholds denial of bail for 9 ex-DPWH execs in flood control mess case

The Sandiganbayan has upheld its decision denying the bail petition of nine former Department of Public Works and Highways officials facing malversation charges in connection with the alleged substandard P289-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.

In a 27-page resolution dated March 31, the anti-graft court’s Sixth Division said the petition lacks merit.

Those denied bail were: 

• Gerald Pacanan, former Regional Director IV of the DPWH Region IV-B from January 11, 2022 to August 31, 2025;
• Gene Ryan Altea, OIC, Office of the Assistant Regional Director of the DPWH Region IV-B from May 9, 2023 to December 20, 2023, and was appointed as the Assistant Regional Director of the said DPWH Regional Office from December 21, 2023 to September 16, 2024;
• Montrexis Tamayo, OIC, Office of the Division Chief, Planning and Design Division of the DPWH Region IV-B from May 9, 2023 to September 17, 2024; appointed as Chic of the Planning and Design Division from September 18, 2024 to April 22, 2025; designated as OIC, Office of the Assistant Regional Director of the DPWH;
• Juliet Calvo, Chief of the Maintenance Division, DPWH Regional Office IV-B from November 7, 2022 up to the present, until the time of the filing of the case;
• Dominic Serrano, Chief of the Construction Division, DPWH Regional Office IV-B from August 4, 2009 to September 9, 2025;
• Dennis Abagon, OIC, Quality Assurance and Hydrology Division of DPWH Regional Office IV-B from December 16, 2022 to April 22, 2025;
• Lerma Cayco, Accountant IV of the DPWH, Regional Office IV-B from November 25, 2008 to present or until the filing of the case;
• Felisardo Casuno, designated Project Engineer of the project under Contract ID No. 24E00047 which is the subject of the case; and
• Ruben Santos, Jr., OIC, Office of the Assistant Regional Director from September 18, 2024 to November 24, 2024 and Assistant Regional Director of the DPWH Regional Office IV-B from November 25, 2024 up to the time of the filing of the case.

“The accused's acts of making their respective certifications, recommendations, or approvals which are required to reasonably ensure that the contractor complied with the specifications of the project before payment is released appeared to have been done pursuant to the same object of releasing the DPWH's funds to Sunwest, Inc....despite its (Sunwest) failure to accomplish the works in compliance with the required specifications,” the Sandiganbayan said. 

“Without the said certifications, recommendations, and approvals, the DPWH's funds would not have been released to Sunwest, Inc. At this stage, and only for purposes of bail, it is unnecessary for the prosecution to prove conspiracy with moral certainty, or beyond reasonable doubt,” it added.

Former Ako-Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co is one of the founders of Sunwest Inc., the contractor of the alleged substandard P289 million Oriental Mindoro flood control project.  

Co is also one of the accused in the case. 

“There is nothing to show that accused Serrano's alleged medical conditions would require immediate and specialized attention outside his current confinement to justify his release on humanitarian grounds [while] the rest of the accused's arguments are merely a substantial reiteration or rehash of their previous arguments in their respective memoranda,” the Sandiganbayan said. 

“The Court had already addressed them in the assailed Resolution, or considered the same, and found them to be without merit. It is unnecessary to discuss them anew. Accordingly, the respective Motions for Reconsideration of accused Pacanan, Altea, Santos, Serrano, Calvo, Abagon, Tamayo, Cayco, and Casuno, are hereby denied for lack of merit,” the anti-graft court added.

Best evidence available

Accused Casuno and Pacanan also argued that the prosecution failed to prove that the length of the steel sheet piles or SSPs for the entire project was only around three meters instead of the required 12 meters, saying that the SSPs actually measured or those actually exposed during the inspections should only be the basis of the present case. 

The Sandiganbayan dismissed this reasoning, saying that the criminal information filed against the accused clearly alleges liability on the respondents for the entire project, not just those SSPs measured during the inspection. 

“The Re-Amended Information alleges that the concerned accused made their certifications in the pertinent documents attesting that the works and materials were accomplished according to plans and specifications, when in truth and in fact, Sunwest, Inc. failed to comply with them, including the delivery and installation of the required length of the SSPs,” the anti-graft court said. 

“Excavations were made on separate portions of the subject project-somewhere near the beginning of the project, somewhere in the middle, and somewhere near the end of the project.  In the said excavated portions, the SSPs exposed all measured, by actual measurement or through visual comparison, to be around three meters. The prosecution's evidence was able to establish a prima facie case from the best evidence obtainable,” it added.

In addition, the anti-graft court also junked the defense of accused Casuno, Altea, Serrano, and Cayco who insisted that they are not accountable public officers. 

The Sandiganbayan said the respondents made their respective certifications and approvals in the pertinent disbursement vouchers and “had to act together to disburse the funds of the DPWH.”

“Without any of the said certifications or approvals, the DPWH's funds could not have been disbursed. Having collective custody or control of the funds of the DPWH, they are considered as accountable officers,” the court said.

The Sandiganbayan, however, underscored that the denial of bail is not tantamount to a guilty verdict. 

“The Court reiterates that the ruling herein is not a prejudgment of the guilt of the said accused. The Court merely determined the weight of evidence for the purposes of bail,” it added.—AOL, GMA News