Maintenance chief of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region IV-B Juliet Calvo appeared before the Sandiganbayan on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to graft charges over her alleged involvement in the substandard Oriental Mindoro flood control project worth P289 million.

Calvo, represented by Attorney Juanito Lim Jr., previously posted a P90,000 bail for temporary liberty. Prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman later amended the case to include her in the charge of malversation connected to the same project.

On 27 November, eight other officials — Gerald Pacanan, Gene Ryan Altea, Ruben Santos, Dominic Serrano, Felisardo Casuno, Lerma Cayco, Dennis Abagon, and Montrexis Tamayo — also pleaded not guilty to the same charges.

The law firm representing Calvo, Altea, Santos, Serrano, Tamayo, Abagon, and Cayco emphasized that the officials voluntarily surrendered to the Philippine National Police–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group at Camp Crame.

“Their voluntary surrender took place in the afternoon of 23 November 2025. In the morning of the same day, Engr. Abagon was already preparing to surrender prior to his arrest by the operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation,” Lim and Yutatco-Sze Law Firm said.

The firm clarified that Tamayo, earlier reported to have been arrested by the CIDG, “voluntarily surrendered to the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv on 25 November upon learning of the issuance of his warrant of arrest,” adding that “Engr. Tamayo, paying for his own airfare, willingly returned to the Philippines to face the charges filed against him.”

The defense also rejected allegations that the project was non-existent.

“To set the record straight, the flood control project in MIMAROPA (Region A-B) is NOT A GHOST PROJECT. It is an almost completed construction activity. Despite a number of typhoons in Oriental Mindoro, the project remains structurally sound and serviceable,” the firm said.

They concluded, “The matter is now with the Honorable Sandiganbayan. We express our full trust on our Justices' independence and their proven resilience against pressure. After all, evidence will speak for itself.”