A former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official did not evade authorities but voluntarily surrendered in Israel after learning of an arrest warrant while on a Catholic pilgrimage in Egypt, his lawyer said Thursday.

Speaking after a hearing before the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division, defense counsel Atty. Von Añonuevo said his client, Montrexis Tordecilla Tamayo, former chief of the Planning and Design Division of the DPWH Regional Office IV-B, immediately coordinated with Philippine authorities upon learning of the warrant.

Añonuevo emphasized that Tamayo was not arrested abroad but presented himself to Philippine authorities, a circumstance the defense said should be recognized by the court.

Since returning to the Philippines, Tamayo has been detained at the New Quezon City Jail's male dormitory in Barangay Payatas.

Tamayo is among the nine co-accused of former congressman Zaldy Co in the malversation and falsification case pending before the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division.

The charges stem from the allegedly anomalous P289.4-million road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, which prosecutors said suffered from serious structural deficiencies.