Case vs Vince Dizon over 2019 SEA Games facilities junked in 2021 —Ombudsman

The case that was filed against Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon over the construction of the sports facilities used for the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games was already dismissed for lack of evidence, the Office of the Ombudsman said Thursday.

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said that the case filed against Dizon, then president and CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), which oversaw the New Clark City sports complex construction, was dismissed as contained in a joint resolution issued in December 2021.

“Upon checking the records of this case, it appears that the case filed against Sec. Vince Dizon, etc. regarding the construction of the sports facilities for the 2019 SEA Games has been dismissed for insufficiency of evidence,” Clavano said.

The Ombudsman official made the confirmation after Palace Press Officer Usec. Claire Castro said that Dizon has been cleared of the charges against him over the 2019 SEA Games controversy.

“Sa ating pagkakaalam, naimbestigahan po si Secretary Vince Dizon noong mga panahon na ‘yun patungkol po diyan sa issue na ‘yan. Siya po ay naimbestigahan, umandar ‘yung pag-imbestiga, at siya po ay napawalang-sala,” Castro said in a Palace briefing.

(As far as we know, Secretary Vince Dizon was investigated during that time regarding that issue. He was investigated, the investigation pushed through, and he was acquitted.)

This came after National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag said that the bureau is launching a probe into the alleged anomalies in the bidding and funding of projects for the 2019 SEA Games.

But Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, former chairman of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC), slammed the investigation, saying that it was intended to intimidate members of the Senate impeachment court.

Castro, in return, said that unlike Cayetano, Dizon has already been absolved in the issue.

“Sa ating pagkakaalam, hindi naimbestigahan sila Sen. Alan Cayetano, at the time ay Speaker of the House. Hindi naimbestigahan ‘yung ibang mga maaaring mabanggit dahil sa ating pagkakaalam, ang dating Pangulong Duterte ay nilinis na agad si Sen. Alan Cayetano at the time kahit wala pang umaandar na pag-iimbestiga,” she said.

(As far as we know, Senator Alan Cayetano—who was the Speaker of the House at the time—was not investigated. Others who might have been implicated were also not investigated either, because, as far as we know, former President Duterte immediately cleared Senator Alan Cayetano even before any investigation was done.)

Castro also said that the NBI’s probe was not meant to intimidate anyone who did nothing wrong. —AOL, GMA News