THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has formed a panel of prosecutors to conduct a preliminary investigation into the five cases filed against officials from the Bulacan’s first district engineering office of the Department of Public Works and Highways and several contractors in connection to the ghost flood control projects in the province.
At a press briefing, DOJ spokesman Polo Martinez said the cases were referred to the Office of the Ombudsman last October 14 for evaluation but were ordered to be returned to the justice department after more than a week to avoid repetition of proceedings.
The preliminary investigation would determine whether there is sufficient evidence to file malversation under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code, falsification by public officers under Article 171 of the RPC, perjury under Article 183 of the RPC, and Section 3e of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) against the respondents.
‘The Ombudsman has deputized the DOJ to conduct the preliminary investigation on the five cases,’ Martinez said.
‘So we’ll assess the evidence, we will evaluate the evidence to see if there is enough grounds to proceed with the trial,’ Martinez said.
Martinez added that the DOJ is eying to conclude the preliminary investigation proceedings within a month.
‘We’re working within a month period. That is the fastest, one month period for us to conduct the preliminary investigation and conclude it. I cannot guarantee that we will be able to finish in one month but we are endeavoring, we are working to resolve this with haste in one month,’ he stressed.
Meanwhile, DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon yesterday led the filing of a criminal complaint for graft and malversation of public funds with falsification of public documents against more than 20 DPWH officials and contractors involved in the ghost and substandard flood control projects in La Union and Davao Occidental.
The charges are considered non-bailable offenses.
The case involves the P96.5 million substandard flood control project in La Union undertaken by construction firm Silverwolves Construction Corporation.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla tagged former ACT-CIS representative and now Benguet Congressman Eric Yap as a person of interest in the said project.
Yap, according to Remulla, is known to be the beneficial owner of the company.
‘He divested from it a few years ago, supposedly, but there is reason to suspect that he is still the beneficial owner of the company. So, there’s a clear case of conflict of interest also, punishable under Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act),’ Remulla noted.
‘Congressmen should not partake of contracts, should not even be related to the people doing contracts,’ he added.
Yap, however, was not named in the complaint.
On the other hand, the two ghost flood control projects in Davao Occidental amounting to a total of P179.5 million were awarded to St. Timothy Corporation, a company linked to contractor-couple Pacifico ‘Curlee’ and Cezarah ‘Sarah’ Discaya.
The projects were awarded in 2022 with a target completion date within the same year, according to Dizon.
‘It was supposed to have been completed in 2021, but after the news erupted, they tried to start working on the projects. So, they started working on the projects after the scandal had already broken out,’ he pointed out.
‘So, it’s really a ghost project, so it’s falsification. It’s malversation committed through falsification,’ he added.
Remulla said the respondents would be asked to file their counter-affidavits.