MANILA — The Senate has moved to compel testimony and secure critical government records as it reopens its investigation into alleged anomalies in flood control projects, issuing subpoenas to key individuals and ordering the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to produce documents linked to the controversial “Cabral files.”
In a Viber message to reporters on Friday, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he authorized the issuance of 12 subpoenas ad testificandum to require identified individuals to appear as resource persons when hearings resume.
Those ordered to testify include Carleen Yap-Villa, Gerald Pacanan, Arjay Domasig, Orly Guteza, Maynard Ngu, John Paul Estrada, Mark Teksay, Gerald Opulencia, former lawmaker Zaldy Co, Commission on Audit Commissioner Mario Lipana, former education undersecretary Trygve Olaivar, and former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan.
Sotto also confirmed that the Senate issued a subpoena duces tecum directing DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon to submit official records deemed vital to the inquiry.
The subpoenas were released ahead of the resumption of hearings by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on January 19, as earlier announced by committee chair Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson.
Lacson said the panel would seek access to records connected to documents reportedly left by the late former DPWH undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, which lawmakers believe could provide crucial details on questionable flood control projects.
“We are issuing a subpoena duces tecum to Secretary Vince Dizon with the end view of consolidating all the files including but not limited to what the late undersecretary Cabral left before she died and which are confirmed to be in the possession of the Department and which the Blue Ribbon Committee needs to further enhance our inquiry and investigation,” Lacson said.
He stressed the need to source documents directly from the DPWH to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the records, underscoring that authenticated documents are essential to the investigation.
Lacson further disclosed that the committee received information alleging that Bonoan had submitted erroneous grid coordinates for thousands of flood control projects to Malacañang. The entries were reportedly uploaded to the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” platform and may have resulted in misleading listings, including claims of hundreds of supposed ghost projects.
According to Lacson, the DPWH is now working to reconcile the discrepancies by aligning data from its multi-year planning and scheduling system, project and contract management application, and other databases.
The committee will also examine unresolved issues, including reports of the alleged purchase of a property in Makati City and claims that some witnesses — among them those referred to as the “BGC Boys” — have either withdrawn or are considering withdrawing their earlier statements.
The panel is likewise set to seek clarification from former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo regarding the circumstances surrounding an alleged attempt to detain him, including the reasons behind the reported move./PN
