The Department of Justice (DOJ), through Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon and DOJ Officer-in-Charge Frederick Vida, on Tuesday, 14 October, turned over a pile of its investigation cases on Bulacan flood control projects to the Office of the Ombudsman.
According to former DOJ Secretary and now Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla, this is an important process in order to further file the cases in the appropriate court.
“That will be very helpful, and hopefully it will be evaluated quickly here (OMB) and filed as fast as possible in the appropriate court when the time comes,” Remulla said in Filipino.
The cartful of files contains evidence and statements, among others, that can be used to file cases against individuals involved in the Bulacan “ghost projects,” including District Engineer Henry Alcantara, Assistant District Engineer Bryce Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza, Project Engineer Nino Lawrence Morales, Finance Section Chief Juanito Mendoza, Administrative Section Chief Floralyn Simbulan, Cashier II Christina Mae Pineda, and Syms Construction representative Sally Santos.
The individuals involved in the cases may face charges such as malversation, falsification of public documents, perjury, and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
According to Remulla, the Bulacan flood control projects are at the surface level, and cases involving higher-ranking officials will unravel soon.
“This is a low-hanging fruit. We call these open-and-shut cases — that’s what we think. Because this is a ‘ghost,’ nothing really happened. The money really came out; someone received the money, but no projects happened,” Remulla explained.
“This is just the start of the process because we have to start somewhere. We are looking into more cases that involve those at the top. This one (the Bulacan ghost project) is something that can be handled quickly — it can be finished quickly — but we are working on other cases simultaneously,” he added.
Remulla said the DOJ, together with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), will continue to help in examining the cases. He added that the next few weeks can be expected to be busy at the Office of the Ombudsman.
“The cry to curb corruption is so strong that we just cannot sit on our asses the whole day,” Remulla said.
Meanwhile, DOJ OIC Vida, following his statement on Monday that the DOJ has set a timeline for the filing of cases against the contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya, emphasized that those involved in the case have no right to make demands.
“The aggrieved party here is the citizenry, so those who caused the grievance should have no right to dictate to us. Remember, the government is here to perform its duty,” Vida said.
“So, those who caused this are the ones who should follow our rules or guidelines,” he added.