Manila: The Department of Justice (DOJ) is expecting all parties implicated in ghost flood control projects in Bulacan province to attend the first preliminary investigation hearing on Friday, Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon said Tuesday. The hearing was originally set for Monday but was rescheduled to November 14 due to the after-effects of Super Typhoon Uwan. Malaca±ang suspended government work and classes in all levels in public and private schools in Luzon on Monday.
According to Philippines News Agency, Fadullon stated, “We expect that on November 14, parties will be there together with their lawyers to secure copies of the complaints. The complaints in these cases are quite voluminous. So, rather than send it out through registered mail, the prosecution teams opted to have the parties come to the Department to secure their copies and make sure that they have all the documents that they need so that they can prepare their defenses.” He further mentioned, “I don’t think there will be any counter affidavits that will be submitted yet.”
Respondents in the cases include former and current officials and staff of the Department of Public Works and Highways, such as former district engineer Henry Alcantara, his deputies Brice Ericson Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza, project engineers Arjay Domasig and Nino Lawrence Morales, finance section chief Juanito Mendoza, administrative section chief Floralyn Simbulan, and cashier Christina Mae Pineda. Additionally, Sally Santos, a representative of Syms Construction, was named as a respondent.
Set for preliminary inquiry are charges of malversation through falsification of public documents under Article 217 in relation to Article 171, Paragraph 4, and perjury under Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code; and graft under Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Meanwhile, Fadullon mentioned that the evaluation of a number of referred cases will be completed soon. “We expect the evaluation to be terminated within the week and hopefully by the end of the week or by early next week, we will be able to make an announcement as to the additional cases that will be filed,” he said.
