Leviste: P3.1-m offered to halt House flood deals probe
A district engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was arrested over the weekend after attempting to bribe neophyte lawmaker Leandro Leviste P3.1 million in exchange for stopping the House probe on anomalous flood control projects.
DPWH Batangas district engineer Abelardo Dionglay Calalo was arrested by the Taal Municipal Police Station (MPS) for alleged violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, specifically concerning the corruption of public officials.
Leviste said he will file a case against Calalo today before the Office of Provincial Prosecutor.
“We should not tolerate any corruption in DPWH. We should demand projects at better quality and lower cost, and obligate contractors to correct any deficiencies immediately without additional cost to the government,” Leviste said.
In a separate interview with Manila Standard, Calalo said he will just let his lawyer handle the case.
DPWH said Calalo will be placed under preventive suspension, adding that the allegations against him “are deeply concerning.”
“As public servants, we at the DPWH do not condone any form of misconduct. We fully support the ongoing investigation by the proper authorities and stand firm in our commitment to transparency and integrity in public service…We firmly believe that those found to have engaged in any wrongdoing must face the full consequences of their actions in accordance with the law,” the department said.
Batangas police director Col. Geovanny Emerick Sibalo said Calalo was caught in the act offering the bribe money to Leviste.
“We received information about an ongoing attempt to bribe the congressman. We proceeded to the area and caught the person in the act of attempting to bribe Rep. Leviste,” said Sibalo in a radio interview yesterday.
“This is not the usual entrapment operation…We responded based on reliable information and they (policemen) caught him in the area,” he added.
As this developed, Senator Panfilo Lacson said the failed bribery attempt on Leviste reflects how corruption has turned government officials into couriers for powerful contractors and funders.
“(This) reinforces my theory that some DPWH officials, at least at the district engineering level, have already been relegated to being ‘legmen’ and worse, ‘bagmen’ of some ‘powerful contractors’ or ‘funders’ responsible for the insertions in the budget,” Lacson said.
Lacson cited the need for a “surgical solution” to systemic corruption in the DPWH instead of simple reassignment of personnel.
“For the past 15 years, this corruption worsened because those involved saw how easy it was to get away. As I said, it was a piece of cake for them, so they went all-out on corruption…They should find out who is/are behind his bribe offer,” he said.
“Somebody more powerful must be behind this whole scheme because the amount involved is huge – P3.6 billion approved under the 2025 General Appropriations Act,” Lacson added.
The senator also expressed disappointment over Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan’s statement dismissing the corruption in Bulacan flood control projects as “an isolated case.”
“In my talks with some DPWH officials, both past and present, I didn’t hear any scathingly bad words about Sec. Bonoan. But for him to claim that Bulacan is an isolated case, he doesn’t strike me as a good, effective leader of his department. What a waste,” he said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last week blew his top over a P55.7-million flood control project in Baliwag, Bulacan that he described as a “ghost project,” noting that the government had fully paid for the contract even though not a single meter of work was built.
Two weeks ago, the President also saw for himself a questionable river protection project in Calumpit, Bulacan, which had been declared finished in official records but was still visibly incomplete.
The river protection structure was built by St. Timothy Construction Corporation, while the flood mitigation structure was constructed by Wawao Builders. The two firms are among the top 15 contractors that secured most of the flood control projects nationwide.
