MANILA — Sixteen officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Bulacan have been slapped with preventive suspension over alleged bogus flood control projects worth nearly P390 million, in one of the biggest corruption crackdowns yet under the Marcos administration.
Acting Ombudsman Dante Vargas signed the suspension order, which took effect Thursday, September 18, but was only made public on Friday. The move bars personnel from the DPWH Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office from possibly influencing witnesses, tampering with documents, or obstructing investigators.
The case stems from complaints filed earlier this week by DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, who vowed to pursue at least one corruption case weekly as the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) intensifies scrutiny of questionable projects.
State auditors had earlier flagged the irregularities, with Commission on Audit (COA) Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba forwarding fraud audit reports involving projects in Plaridel, Pandi, and Bocaue.
Findings revealed glaring inconsistencies, including falsified or missing records, wrong project sites, defective bid documents, and even projects that did not exist at all.
Investigators placed the total value of ghost or anomalous projects at P389.6 million.
According to the Ombudsman, the suspensions are part of a broader bid to insulate the inquiry from undue interference and secure government records as accountability measures move forward./PN
