The Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) has ordered the preventive suspension without pay of 16 Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officers assigned to Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office, in connection with the P389.6 million “ghost” flood control projects in the province.
In an order issued by Acting Ombudsman Dante F. Vargas, the OMB stated that the suspension will remain in effect until the resolution of the charges filed against them, but shall not exceed six months.
However, the OMB clarified that any delay in resolving the case caused by the respondents – whether through negligence, fault, or the filing of petitions – will not be counted toward the six-month suspension period.
The suspension order was endorsed by Vargas to DPWH Secretary Vince B. Dizon last Thursday, Sept. 18.
Ordered suspended were Construction Section Chief John Michael E. Ramos, Planning and Design Section Chief Ernesto C. Galang, OIC-Chief Maintenance Section Lorenzo A. Pagtalunan, Quality Assurance Section Chief Norberto L. Santos, OIC-Chief Maintenance Section Jaime R. Hernandez, Administrative Section Chief Floralyn Y. Simbulan, and Budget Unit Head Roberto A. Roque.
Included in the suspension order were Procurement Unit Head Benedict J. Matawaran, Cashier II Christina Mae D. Pineda, Project Engineer Paul Jayson F. Duya, Project Engineer Merg Jaron C. Laus, Project Engineer Lemuel Ephraim C. Roque, Project Engineer Arjay S. Domasig, Project Engineer John Carlo C. Rivera, Project Engineer John Benex S. Francisco, and Engineer II Jolo Mari V. Tayao.
Meanwhile, former District Engineer Henry C. Alcantara, Assistant District Engineer Brice Ericson D. Hernandez, Construction Section Chief Jaypee D. Mendoza, and Finance Section Chief Juanito C. Mendoza – who had earlier been dismissed from the service – were no longer included in the preventive suspension order.
In a statement, the OMB said “the flood control projects in question are being tagged as ghost or graft-ridden projects, either through the lack of necessary supporting documents, non-existence of any civil works, discrepancy in the pinpointed location, and even flawed approved bid plans. The said projects have been allocated a total cost of P389.6 million.”
It also said: “The suspension order was issued to prevent the personnel concerned from exerting influence over the ongoing investigation, as well as to safeguard public records and ensure that accountability measures can proceed without obstruction,” it added.
Dizon had asked the OMB to charge the suspended personnel with violations of Sections 3(e) and (g) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and Articles 217 in relation to Article 181 of the Revised Penal Code on Malversation of Public Funds through Falsification.
He told the OMB that the DPWH’s Internal Audit Service (IAS) uncovered “a consistent pattern of fraudulent misrepresentation, falsification, collusion, and blatant disregard of Commission on Audit regulations across multiple contracts” after inspecting several infrastructure projects in Bulacan from Aug. 13 to 20, 2025.
The complaint stated that the Bulacan DPWH officials issued project accomplishments and issued payments even if the flood-control projects were incomplete, defective, or unperformed.
It also stated that the IAS was unable to obtain project logbooks and supporting documents related to the projects, and the Variation Orders they secured were undated or irregularly processed.
The first batch of fraud audit reports submitted by the Commission on Audit (COA) before the OMB involved P342.66 million “ghost and substandard” flood-control projects in Bulacan, which tagged private contractors Wawao Builders, St. Timothy, and Syms Construction Trading.
The second batch of reports involved P389.6 million “ghost” flood control projects in Bulacan with private contractors Wawao Builders and the joint venture between TopNotch Catalyst Builders, Inc. and One Frame Construction, Inc. (Czarina Ong Ki)
