MANILA: Eight individuals linked to an anomalous flood control project in Oriental Mindoro have been taken into custody, authorities announced on Monday (Nov 23).
Earlier on Monday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.(pic) announced that authorities already held several suspects in custody in connection with the case.
“To all the accused still at large, I advise you to surrender now. Don’t wait to be chased. It’s better for your situation to surrender now so that you can properly respond to the allegations against you,” Marcos said in Filipino in a video on social media.
“To those who plan on helping them hide, remember that you will also be held accountable somehow,” he added.
In a joint press conference, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) showed mugshots identifying the suspects in custody as:
OIC-Chief, DPWH 4B Quality Assurance and Hydrology Division; Regular Member, Bidding and Awards Committee (now OIC-Chief, Planning and Design Division) Dennis Pelo Abagon
Department of Public Works and Highways Mimaropa (DPWH 4B) Regional Director Gerald A. Pacanan
Assistant Regional Director (now Director of DPWH Bureau of Maintenance) Gene Ryan Alurin Altea
Assistant Regional Director Ruben delos Santos Santos Jr.
Chief, DPWH 4B Construction Division Dominic Gregorio Serrano
Chief, DPWH 4B Maintenance Division Juliet Cabungan Calvo
Project Engineer III Felisardo Sevare Casuno
DPWH 4B Bidding and Awards Committee Account IV Lerma Dotado Cayco
At the press conference, NBI Officer-in-Charge Atty. Angelito Magno said Abagon was arrested on Sunday.
Meanwhile, also at the briefing, acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said Pacanan surrendered to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), leading to the arrest of his six other co-accused.
Marcos announced the issuance of the arrest warrants against former House of Representatives appropriations committee chair and resigned Ako Bicol party-list Representative Zaldy Co and 15 of his co-accused for the Sandiganbayan cases last Friday.
Co and the 15 others are accused of violations of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, as well as malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents in connection with a P289.5-million road dike project in Oriental Mindoro. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
