The Department of Public Works and Highways on Thursday filed complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman against several DPWH officials and contractors, including St. Timothy Construction Corp. and its owner, Cezarah ‘Sarah’ Discaya.
The charges are related to anomalous flood control projects in La Union and Davao Occidental.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said DPWH officials and contractors were charged with malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents for separate flood control projects in the two provinces. ‘Twelve people were charged, plus the Silverwolves Corporation for the La Union case. Nine [people] for the Davao Occidental case, plus St. Timothy [Corporation] and Sarah Discaya,’ Dizon said in a press conference.
The move came after DPWH officials inspected what they described as ‘substandard’ and ‘ghost’ flood control projects in the two provinces. Last Sept. 16, Dizon inspected two flood mitigation structures along the Bauang River Basin in La Union worth P89.7 million each. Both projects were awarded to Silverwolves Construction Corp.
Dizon said the projects were substandard despite being fully paid.
Meanwhile, the secretary also inspected what he described as a ‘ghost’ flood control project in Davao Occidental worth P96.5 million.
He said the project was awarded to the Discaya-owned St. Timothy Construction Corp. in January 2022. after the contractor promised to complete the project.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla then said that after the filing of complaints, there will have to be a preliminary investigation and respondents in the case have to submit their counter-affidavits.
He, however, said that they can still bring additional pieces of evidence after the counter-affidavits are filed.
When asked why the agency will not do a fact-finding investigation anymore, Remulla explained that the complaints are a verified petition and the documents have been vetted by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure.
‘That’s why this is already a presumption that all of this case already underwent complete scrutiny so we will adhere to that,’ Remulla said in the same conference. The DPWH earlier filed cases before the Ombudsman against 25 individuals, four construction firms including St. Timothy Construction Corporation over alleged kickbacks in flood control projects in Bulacan.
Dizon said that these cases covered violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Government Procurement Reform Act, and malversation and falsification against Discaya’s firms and other contractors, as well as officials and employees of DPWH’s district engineering officer in Bulacan. /apl/dm /gsg