Sandiganbayan denies bail for 9 DPWH-Mimaropa officials

The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division has denied the bail petitions of nine officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Mimaropa charged over alleged irregularities in a road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

The anti-graft court ruled that the evidence presented against the accused was strong enough to deny their request for temporary release.

Those who filed petitions for bail were DPWH-Mimaropa officials Gerald Pacanan, Gene Altea, Ruben Delos Santos Jr., Dominic Serrano, Lerma Cayco, Felisardo Casuno, Dennis Abagon, Juliet Calvo and Montrexis Tamayo.

In their petition, the officials argued that the charges against them were “based on mere speculations, conjectures, and assumptions,” and claimed that the evidence presented by the prosecution was weak.

However, in a 41-page resolution dated 10 March 2026, the court denied their petitions.

The ruling was written by Sandiganbayan Chairperson Sarah Jane T. Fernandez, with Associate Justices Kevin Narce Vivero and Lord Villanueva concurring.

The nine officials face charges of malversation and graft in connection with a P289-million flood control and road dike project in Oriental Mindoro.

“Using the standard of evident guilt or presumption of guilt as defined in People v. Cabral, this Court finds that accused Altea, Santos, Serrano, Tamayo, Abagon, Calvo, Cayco, Pacanan, and Casuno are not entitled to bail,” the resolution read.

“It must be emphasized that the Court's ruling herein is not a prejudgment of the guilt of the said accused. The Court merely determined the weight of evidence for the purposes of bail,” it added.

The Sandiganbayan conducted several bail hearings beginning January 2026 to assess whether the evidence against the officials warranted their continued detention while trial proceeds.