THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has identified and confirmed that 14 flood control projects are “ghost” or non-existent.
Meanwhile, the Senate agreed to allow the DOJ to take custody of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) district engineer Henry Alcantara following his admission to the Witness Protection Program (WPP).
At the resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee probe into the alleged flood control anomalies on Monday, DOJ officer-in-charge Fredderick Vida said some of the cases had been filed before the Sandiganbayan while others remained under preliminary investigation.
“Presently, 14 projects have been identified by the Department of Justice and we are convinced they are ghost projects,” Vida said.
He added that the issuance of arrest warrants rests solely with the courts once information approved by the Ombudsman are submitted.
He also said the prosecutors were being cautious before endorsing the suits for arrest warrants, stressing that “evidence must withstand judicial scrutiny.”
“If we can initially narrow things down so we don’t have to keep going back, for example if our at the DPWH give us 10,000 projects, we are sure 9,800 of them are definitely not ghost projects, then our universe becomes smaller. Government resources are limited, and so is the time as our people await solutions,” Vida said.
Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon said the DOJ will formally request the Senate to turn over Alcantara, stressing that the transfer is meant to ensure the state witness’ safety as he cooperates in the investigation into alleged corruption in flood control projects.
“If the chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee so desires, then we will take the necessary appropriate action to take him into our custody,” said Fadullon.
“The secretariat is directed to,” the panel’s chair,
In the same hearing, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson ordered the Senate secretariat to issue show-cause orders to [former] congressman Elizaldy Co and Orly Guteza.
“In deference to the latest Supreme Court ruling, we will use the show-cause order first, and if not satisfactory, we will cite them in contempt and eventually, we will issue the warrant of arrest,” he added.
The whereabouts of Co and of Guteza remained unknown, with the former congressman believed to be in Portugal, while his former aide was briefly rumored to be in Marine custody.
Senator Panfilo Lacson on Monday reopened the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the flood control scandal, marking the eighth public session of the inquiry.
Lacson said the committee which he chairs has made significant progress since the controversy emerged last year, overcoming attempts to downplay its work.
“Contrary to the lies and obfuscations that naysayers are trying to spread around, your Blue Ribbon Committee has accomplished so much since the flood control scandal broke wide open in the middle of last year,” he said.
Lacson noted that testimonies from DPWH officials, including Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez, and Jaypee Mendoza, exposed billions of pesos funneled from flood control projects into casinos through a complex scheme.
The hearings also scrutinized former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo and revealed practices such as in-house contracting, bid rigging, padded contract costs, and license renting.
“The case of Bulacan proved to be a gateway, the microcosm of a much more complex and institutionalized plunder within the bureaucracy,” Lacson said.
He pointed out that they have uncovered misuse of public funds involving senior officials in both the executive and legislative branches, as well as irregularities involving the Commission on Audit.
Some officials and contractors are now facing charges at the Sandiganbayan and regular courts, while others are under preliminary investigation by the Ombudsman and the4 DOJ.
Court orders have frozen at least P21.7 billion in assets, and several witnesses are in the DOJ Witness Protection Program while cooperating on restitution agreements.
“We laid out how this deeply rooted scheme operates with systemic precision. It involves a network of actors: namely, the Contractors Group, who collude among themselves to rig public biddings and monopolize flood control projects; key DPWH coordinators, who manage project allocations and orchestrate the collection and delivery of kickbacks; and intermediaries, agents or bagmen, who receive these illicit funds allegedly in behalf of their principals,” Lacson explained.
The committee also exposed conflicts of interest in the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board, the reappearance of blacklisted companies under new names, license renting, and contracts awarded to undercapitalized firms.
He credited the hearings with paving the way for transparency reforms in the national budget process, including livestreaming bicameral sessions and tracking budget insertions to their proponents.
The veteran lawmaker praised citizens who followed the hearings and participated in public scrutiny, saying their awareness helped expose systemic corruption nationwide.
“Let this serve as a warning to skeptics, detractors, and hijackers who exploit the vulnerabilities and anger of our people to deepen the fault lines of our nation during these trying times. As the Chairman of this committee I say to you: Shut the f… up!” he concluded.
