The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has recommended charges against 12 Public Works officials following an investigation into “substandard” flood control projects that failed to protect local residents from rising waters.

This, as the NBI urged the Independent Commission for Infrastructure and the Department of Justice to file formal criminal and administrative charges against the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) personnel.

The officials, who represent both the DPWH regional office and the Davao City district engineering office, have not yet been publicly named.

Investigators focused on a specific project at the La Verna Hills Subdivision in Barangay Buhangin. Despite the completion of the infrastructure, the NBI found the area remains prone to severe flooding.

The bureau’s validation report concluded that the structures were either left incomplete or failed to meet technical engineering specifications.