MANILA, PHILIPPINES—A government-mandated anti-corruption body is pushing for an investigation into former high-ranking officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) over an allegedly anomalous flood control project in Bulacan that it claims was paid for but never properly built.
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) formally submitted an interim report to the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday, urging a probe into former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan and two former undersecretaries.
Top Executives Face Ethical Scrutiny
ICI Chairperson Andres Reyes Jr. identified the center of the controversy as the P72-million Riverbank Protection Structure in Barangay Bagong Silang, Plaridel, Bulacan. The report claims the project was implemented at a different location than specified in the original approved plans and was found to be substandard.
The ICI specifically recommended that the Ombudsman assess the liability of Bonoan and former Undersecretaries Roberto Bernardo and Maria Catalina Cabral for a possible breach of Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
The ICI report did not mince words regarding the former Secretary’s culpability. “The above-described scheme perpetrated by senior DPWH employees was made possible because Secretary Bonoan betrayed such trust reposed in him,” the report stated. “He miserably failed to exercise simple diligence tantamount to fraud in ensuring the judicious use of public funds entrusted to DPWH.”
Criminal Charges Recommended for District Officials
Beyond the top leadership, the ICI is urging the Ombudsman to evaluate the filing of criminal charges against several former officials of the DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office.
The list includes former District Engineer Henry Alcantara and Assistant District Engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez, among others. The recommended charges include:
- Malversation of public funds.
- Violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
- Violations of the Government Procurement Reform Act.
Also named in the report was Eumir Villanueva, along with the corporate officers and board of directors of the project contractor, Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc., for their involvement in the alleged fraudulent scheme. The ICI pointed out that these district and private individuals were liable for the “falsity in the contents of the Certificate of Completion.”
The anti-graft body concluded that the alleged scheme—which saw a complete absence of work at the designated site despite full payment—could not have been executed without the “participation or gross inexcusable negligence” of the involved public officials and private individuals.
