AS EXPECTED, THE main man supposedly behind the P1.7-trillion flood control scandal is not included in the list of government officials who were charged by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Topping the list is fugitive former partylist Congressman Zaldy Co, who recently dragged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez as the brains behind the P100-billion budget insertion under the 2025 national budget.
According to the Office of the Ombudsman, those charged before the Sandiganbayan form part of the first batch of a long list of government officials (including those who have resigned or been dismissed) and corporate officers of construction companies in cahoots with the former partylist congressman.
According to Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano, one count of malversation and two counts of graft were lodged against Co, former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region IV-B and executives of construction firm Sunwest Inc. over the P289.5-million road dike along Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
NO BAIL PRESCRIPTION
Under the Revised Penal Code and Republic Act 3019, (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act or Republic Act) the criminal charges filed against Co and others are considered a serious, non-bailable offense due to the large amount of funds involved and the nature of the crimes.
Clavano III, who forms part of a panel of ombudsman prosecutors, has recommended no bail for the malversation charge because the amount malversed exceeded P8.8 million.
Co, who was the chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee under the 19th Congress, is likewise charged with violation of Section 3(h) of RA 3019 for “receiving unwarranted financial or pecuniary benefits.”
The fugitive former legislator earlier claimed that he was merely following instructions from Marcos and Romualdez, but insisted that he didn’t receive a dime from the anomalous flood control projects.
WARRANT OF ARREST
The panel of ombudsman prosecutors also filed a motion for the urgent issuance of arrest warrants and hold departure orders against the respondents.
“It is the first case to be filed in court. This is the first of many cases that will be filed in court. There are several cases in the preliminary investigation stage and more in the fact-finding stage,” Clavano noted.
Cases lodged before the Sandiganbayan stemmed from the complaint filed on September 29 by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which recommended the filing of criminal and administrative charges against Co, DPWH officials and Sunwest corporate executives over the alleged irregularities in the project.
Clavano said that the P289.5-million road dike project (funded under the 2024 national budget) in Naujan town used steel sheet piles that were found to be “grossly below the required standards.”
The DPWH-Mimaropa Region 4B was the implementing agency of the project.
RAILROADED PROCESS
Case information showed that the DPWH-Mimaropa awarded the project to Sunwest on Feb. 14, 2024. Two weeks later, a notice to proceed was released with a contract duration of 360 days.
The ICI said the project was only 92 percent completed and the use of substandard steel sheet piles could potentially lead to government losses of over P63 million.
According to ICI’s report, Co allegedly received “unwarranted benefits” from the construction projects of Sunwest, a project contractor linked to him. He may have retained beneficial ownership over the firm even after he became congressman, according to the report.
It added that all responsible DPWH officials who made progress payments to Sunwest possible through the issuance of false certifications and affixing of their signatures of approval may be held liable for criminal and administrative penalties.
PROMISES, PROMISES
“The Office of the Ombudsman assures the Filipino people that we will pursue this case firmly, independently and without fear or favor. Public funds were meant to protect communities from flooding – not to enrich officials or private contractors. Those responsible will be held to account,” Clavano told reporters in a press conference conducted after the filing of the case.
This is the first known case related to the flood control mess that reached the courts.
Taking cue from published reports, the flood control anomaly is deemed massive even as irregularities also hound the Ilocos region — the President’s bailiwick. Likewise included in the list of public input into the Sumbong mo sa Pangulo website, even Romualdez’s political empire — Leyte, is marred with anomalous infrastructure projects.
Co is being accused of proposing billions of pesos in insertions in the 2025 national budget that funded allegedly anomalous flood control and other infrastructure projects.