The case against Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon concerning alleged anomalies in the construction of facilities during the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games was dismissed in 2021, said the Office of the Ombudsman.

“Upon checking the records of this case, it appears that the case filed against Sec. Vince Dizon, etc. regarding the construction of the sports facilities for the 2019 SEA Games has been dismissed for insufficiency of evidence,” Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano told reporters through a viber message.

“This is contained in a joint resolution issued back in December, 2021,” he noted.

Dizon, who was the chief executive officer of the Bases and Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) at the time, was among the four accused in a complaint filed by the Citizens Crime Watch (CCW) group concerning a P8.51-billion contract for a sports facility in Tarlac.

The complainants said that the respondents had committed graft and malversation in relation with the project that was awarded to MTD Capital Berhad on a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) without sufficient bidding documents, lack of liquidation, and supposed illegal insertions intended for the contract.

Among the particular anomalies that the CCW pointed out were the supposed Build-Transfer scheme that was included in the agreement which supposedly caused undue injury to the government.

It further alleged that Dizon and his fellow respondents had changed the JVA in a way that shifted the budget for the project from P8.51 billion to P11 billion.

A finding under the Commission on Audit (COA) was also cited, wherein the said agreement was said to have been formed two years prior to the approval for the construction of sports facilities in New Clark City that was indicated in the 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

To recall, discussions about anomalies in the 2019 SEA Games projects were revived on Tuesday, 14 July, when National Bureau of Investigations (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag said that they were investigating information related to the event.

Hearing of such information, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano took offense to the development, particularly as he served as the chairperson of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC).

However, Matibag has since clarified that the probe did not directly focus on Cayetano and that their discovery of the matter was “incidental” and had nothing to do with the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte.

“I’m aware that he was the chairman of PHISGOC, so it’s not renewed interest. It just so happened that documents have come out now, which will lead us to investigate because all that come in here regarding corruption or anything, even ordinary cases, when brought to us, will be investigated,” he said.

Notably, the NBI director is set to serve as a witness during the impeachment, being the final witness that members of the House prosecution would be presenting with regards to the impeachment article concerning the supposed grave threats of the Vice President against high ranking public officials.