OMBUDSMAN Jesus Crispin Remulla on Friday said the government eyes at least one state witness involved in alleged anomalous flood control projects.
Meanwhile, the Commission on Audit (COA) has submitted four new Fraud Audit Reports (FARs) to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), uncovering more ghost and questionable flood-control projects under the Bulacan’s 1st District Engineering Office (DEO) of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
“We are considering one state witness. You’ll find out soon. We are about to be done with the evaluation. We already have one,” Remulla said in his first ever press briefing as the government’s chief prosecutor.
Asked why only one, Remulla explained that granting a state witness status cannot be done haphazardly since current laws have limitations.
“Our state witness law was not created for a multitude of crimes committed by one person. Usually, those who apply as state witness as also complicit in the crime, but not the most guilty. Besides, there should only be one incident, two at most,” he added.
“But here, there are hundreds of cases. Various cases; bid rigging, malversation, malversation through falsification of public documents. You’re talking about a multitude of crimes so it is not easy to grant state witness status and give them blanket immunity (from suit),” Remulla said.
Remulla also said cases are expected to be filed against those involved in the flood control mess by November.
“I don’t have a specific timeline, but it’s sooner than many people would think. It is hard to make a promise to file it within the month, so I would say by November,” he added.
The latest batch of assailed projects, worth a total of nearly P360 million, covers those implemented by M3 Konstract Corp., SYMS Construction and Trading, and Amethyst Horizon Builders and General Contractor and Development Corp.
Among them was the construction of a riverbank protection structure at Barangay San Roque in Baliuag, worth P96.4 million which was found built in a site other than the approved location.
The COA said DPWH-Bulacan DEO personnel pointed to a site different from the approved project location and gave no explanation.
Inspectors also found an existing but defective structure for a different project altogether, while the approved site also contained a structure tied to another project.
The state auditors bared that the district office failed to submit critical documents and even produced conflicting papers on contract cost, variation order amount, and contractor identity.
Those found potentially liable included district engineer Alcantara, assistant district engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez, and several other state engineers, along with Louis Raphael Tiqui, and other officers of M3 Konstract Corp..
Two projects under SYMS Construction and Trading were also cited by state auditors. SYMS has been named in both the Senate and House inquiries into the flood-control scandal.
SYMS owner Sally Santos, earlier told senators she withdrew P457 million in cash tied to flood-control contracts.
Those found suspects in the two SYMS projects included Alcantara, Hernandez, Ernesto Galang, John Michael Ramos, Lemuel Ephraim Roque, Jolo Mari Tayao, Irene Ontingco, Jefferson Buendia, and Michelle Cruz, and a certain Santos.
The fourth project, titled “Construction of Riverbank Protection Structure along Balagtas River, Barangay Dalig, Balagtas, Bulacan,” also worth P96.49 million, was undertaken by Amethyst Horizon Builders and General Contractor and Development Corp.
While a flood control structure existed at the approved site, COA said DPWH-Bulacan 1st DEO “pinpointed the project at another location where the structure did not match the approved plan.” Again, no justification was offered for the discrepancy.
Those found allegedly complicit in this were likewise included Alcantara, Hernandez, Galang, Ontingco, Ramos, Jaypee Mendoza, Cruz, Jasmine Jean I. Gonzaga, and Rochelle R. Campos of Amethyst Horizon Builders, as well as the company’s officers and board members.
