Subpoenas issued by DOJ, probe set for 5 Bulacan ghost projects

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued subpoenas against the respondents in complaints involving five ghost flood control projects in Bulacan, Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon said Monday.

Fadullon said the summons were released last week, adding that the first hearing will be held on 10 November 2025 — a detail confirmed by DOJ officer in charge Fredderick Vida.

“Some of the subpoenas have been personally served — the initial five cases where the DOJ has been deputized by the Office of the Ombudsman,” Vida said on the sidelines of the department’s three-day Justice Summit. (“Some of the subpoenas have been personally served — the initial five cases where the DOJ has been deputized by the Office of the Ombudsman.”)

He said the process will begin as the respondents and charges have already been identified.

The DOJ initially recommended filing graft, malversation, perjury, and falsification of public documents charges against officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways’ Bulacan First District Engineering Office and several contractors to the Office of the Ombudsman.

However, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla later returned the information against the respondents and deputized the DOJ to prosecute the charges, including conducting the preliminary investigation and filing the cases.

DOJ spokesperson Atty. Polo Martinez previously said the department is aiming to complete the preliminary investigation within a month.