A witness in the malversation trial of former Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla and his supposed cohorts said that he did not see a materials testing result attached to the documents concerning the P92.8-million flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan.
In his testimony to the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division this Wednesday, 20 May, Engr. Ferdinand Vergara Jr., the Officer-in-Charge of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Quality Assurance Section, noted that such results were needed for funds to be released for a particular project.
Vergara explained that test results were a requirement under the guidelines of the DPWH as part of the progress billing report which will be checked by the department’s Materials Engineer, Project Engineer, and the Chief of Construction.
The engineer further stated that the non-existence of the document also meant that the project did not comply with the standard procedures of his section.
To recall, in a previous hearing on the case, agent Ivan Bernard Samson from the National Bureau of Investigation said that the project in question was already 95.17 percent complete despite its construction starting just 21 days prior.
Samson noted that the development was questionable particularly as such projects could take at least 270 days to complete.
Even during the on-site inspection of the anti-graft court on the project site last 15 April, an official from the DPWH 1st District Engineering Office said that there was “no seen accomplishment” of the project.
However, despite the lack of sufficient documents, numerous witnesses have testified throughout the proceedings that funds were dispersed related to the project with Contract ID 25cc0299, the Pandi project.
At the bail hearing of the respondents on 21 April, SYMS Construction liaison officer Monica Louis Ocampo-Santos testified that DPWH Engr. Brice Hernandez had received P74 million in cash dedicated to the project on 20 May 2025.
With the adjournment of the session, hearings into the malversation case against Revilla and others will proceed on 26 May.
