Secretary Vince Dizon of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Thursday said three persons linked to anomalous flood control projects in Bulacan could be spending Christmas behind bars.

“It’s first in, first out at the Ombudsman. We are confident they will spend Christmas in jail because the complaint is non-bailable,” Dizon said after a meeting of the technical working group of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

Those facing possible detention are former DPWH Bulacan 1st District engineer Henry Alcantara, former assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez, and private contractor Sarah Discaya — all implicated in flood control projects riddled with alleged irregularities.

They are among the respondents in the first formal complaint filed by the DPWH before the Office of the Ombudsman on 11 September, involving nine flood control projects worth P249 million in Malolos, Hagonoy, Baliwag, Bulakan and Calumpit.

Also charged were DPWH Construction Section Chief John Michael Ramos, Planning and Design Section Chief Ernesto Galang, and 15 other employees of the Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office, along with contractors Ma. Angeline Rimando of St. Timothy Construction Corp., Sally Santos of SYMS Construction Trading, Mark Allan Arevalo of Wawao Builders and Robert Imperio of IM Construction.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said prosecutors are preparing to file the information before the court by 25 November.

At the ICI meeting, executive director Brian Keith Hosaka disclosed that the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) had traced about P5 billion connected to the irregularities, spread across some 2,800 bank accounts.

Hosaka said the meeting brought together key agencies to coordinate asset recovery and pursue legal actions to seize the public funds allegedly siphoned off through corruption.

Among those represented were the AMLC, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Customs, Department of Transportation, Insurance Commission, and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

A major point of discussion was the government’s plan to file forfeiture cases as part of a broader effort to recover ill-gotten wealth from questionable infrastructure projects.

The ICI, created to synchronize inter-agency actions against corruption in public works, is finalizing a framework to recover billions in public funds lost to fraudulent schemes.

ICI Chair Andres Reyes Jr. underscored the moral weight of the mission.

“We know that every peso taken is a peso lost in services for the people. That is why it is important for us to work together and help each other to get back the money that belongs to the people,” Reyes said.

The technical working group outlined coordination mechanisms, information sharing, and legal procedures for asset recovery, setting timelines and accountability measures.

The framework involves agencies from finance, law enforcement, and regulation — including the Department of Justice, Office of the Solicitor General, Commission on Audit and Land Registration Authority — tasked with tracing, seizing, and forfeiting assets tied to the corruption, from real estate and vehicles to aircraft and other luxury assets.

Dizon said the crackdown on the corruption at the DPWH is only the beginning. “This is the first of many. We will pursue every official and contractor who took part in stealing from the people,” he said.