The Department of Justice (DOJ) is eyeing the filing of plunder and malversation of public funds cases against individuals linked to anomalous government flood control projects after preliminary findings by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said.
Remulla told reporters that the NBI had been directed to pursue the probe into what investigators were already characterizing as “ghost projects,” and that the bureau had begun submitting its reports to the DOJ.
“We are studying if plunder charges can be filed. Malversation is also likely as the investigation moves forward,” Remulla said, adding that cases were expected to be filed soon once the NBI’s findings were in hand.
Remulla said the DOJ would consider whether to grant state-witness status to potential cooperators, but that the department was unlikely to extend that protection to married contractors Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya and Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya.
He told senators he had recommended that the Discayas not be accepted as state witnesses because, in his view, they had not been fully forthcoming during legislative inquiries.
“If they want to become state witnesses, they should tell the whole truth, not selective confessions,” he said, adding that any request for leniency would also require the return of ill-gotten funds.
Remulla likewise left open the possibility that officials and employees of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) could be considered for witness status if they cooperated.
He said they will evaluate everybody as he stressed that decisions would be guided by whistleblower laws, the Rules of Court, and relevant jurisprudence, and would be made on a case-by-case basis.
Asked about allegations raised by former DPWH district engineer Brice Hernandez — who had implicated several senators and DPWH officials in relation to the flood-control projects — Remulla said investigators would evaluate all leads and evidence. He warned that cooperation would be taken into account and that attempts to stonewall the probe would have consequences.
The Marcos administration’s Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) was defended by Remulla as a fact-finding body whose work the DOJ would rely on where appropriate.
The DOJ chief said the executive order creating the ICI had taken into account past constitutional concerns about similar commissions and emphasized that the DOJ’s actions would depend on the evidence produced and the level of cooperation from those involved.