Dizon relieves 2 DPWH Pampanga officials over fatal drainage incident

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon has relieved two officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways Pampanga Third District Engineering Office over alleged road safety negligence and other violations.

In a social media post on 6 September 2026, Dizon released a memorandum relieving OIC-District Engineer Aser S. Mallari and OIC-Assistant District Engineer Augustin R. Dagsaan Jr. from their posts.

The DPWH said the officials failed to implement necessary road safety measures at a project along the Fil-Am Friendship Highway in Angeles City, Pampanga, where a man died after falling into an open drainage canal.

Dizon said that, following the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the DPWH would strictly enforce safety and quality standards across all projects to protect the public.

He also warned that DPWH officials would be held accountable for negligence in the performance of their duties.

The action stemmed from the death of 25-year-old Reiner Novero, who fell into a flooded, uncovered drainage canal along the Fil-Am Friendship Highway in Barangay Cutcut, Angeles City, on 28 August 2026.

Novero was walking along a flooded sidewalk near a Korean store when he stepped into the submerged canal and was swept away by a strong current.

CCTV footage of the incident later circulated widely on social media.

His body was recovered about an hour later, around two kilometers away beneath a bridge in front of Mansfield Residences in Barangay Sto. Domingo.