DOJ chief rules out state witness status for Discayas
JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the DOJ will file malversation of public funds and, where applicable, plunder raps against contractors and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials involved in anomalous flood-control projects.
He said the National Bureau of Investigation’s anti-graft unit has started submitting its findings on the reported substandard and even “ghost’ flood infrastructure deals.
“The NBI is giving me findings already. They are giving findings about ghost projects and we will be filing cases very soon,” he said.
“We will see if plunder charges can be filed. Malversation charges will be filed for sure,” Remulla added.
The DOJ chief earlier signed immigration lookout bulletin orders (ILBO) against contractors and DPWH executives linked to anomalous flood-control projects.
However, Remulla said the ILBO request against former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan was still being processed.
As this developed, Remulla said the DOJ is not inclined to admit couple Pacifico “Curlee” and Cezarah Rowena “Sarah” Discaya as state witnesses in the ongoing investigation into “ghost” flood control projects.
“Given what we know, there should be restitution. That’s why I told Senate President (Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III), for me, I won’t give the status as state witness because they are not forthcoming,” he said.
“You have to tell the whole truth. They cannot choose what to divulge. They should tell the whole story,” he added.
The DOJ chief said the government will also screen the qualification of other persons, such as the engineers involved in the controversy, if they are qualified for state witness status.
“We will evaluate (them). We have several laws that govern state witnesses,” Remulla said.
The Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) earlier cancelled the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) membership of nine companies associated with the Discayas.
The PS-DBM is also preparing to remove more firms—including SYMS Construction Trading and Wawao Builder—from the registry once the DPWH issues official blacklisting orders.
