ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Ex-Bulacan water district exec charged with perjury

Ex-Bulacan water district exec charged with perjury

Published Oct 13, 2025 02:20 pm
A perjury complaint has been filed against a former executive of a water district in Bulacan over the alleged false statements he made before the Senate concerning a joint venture agreement (JVA) with PrimeWater Infrastructure Corporation.
Five members of the Kalipunan at Lakas ng mga Itinatanging Kababaihan (KLIK) filed the complaint before the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office last week against Even A. Calajate, an engineer and a former member of the board of directors of the San Jose del Monte (SJDM) Water District.
In their complaint, the group asked the Office of the City Prosecutor (OCP) to prosecute Calajate for perjury under Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) as amended, unlawful publication under Article 154 of the RPC, and other crimes that may be found.
“In this case, Engineer Calajate knowingly uttered false statements during the Senate inquiry that were broadcast live, reported by national and media outlets, and widely circulated online,” the complaint stated.
The complaint stemmed from Calajate’s testimony during a Senate hearing last Sept. 29 concerning the JVA that was executed between SJDM Water District and PrimeWater.
“The JVA between the SJDM Water District and PrimeWater has been marked by recurring service failures–shortages, low pressure, intermittent supply, poor water quality, and rising costs,” the complainants said.
“These conditions culminated in the Board’s 2025 declaration of intent to pre-terminate the JVA due to PrimeWater’s failure to meet its obligations,” they added.
During the Senate hearings, the group said that Calajate accused the Spouses Mayor Florida P. Robes and Congressman Arturo B. Robes of being promoters of PrimeWater JVA and of controlling the Board of Directors of the SJDM Water District.
Calajate conveyed to the Senate and to the public that the SJDM board lacked independence and acted only as a tool of the spouses Robes, they alleged in their complaint.
They also alleged that Calajate’s testimony unfairly placed blame on parties without evidence, misled the Senate Committee, and obscured the real causes of the water service failures.
At the same time, the complainants said that during the Senate hearing, Calajate admitted he was no longer a member of the SJDM Water District when the JVA was reached.
“This admission proves that Engineer Calajate had no personal knowledge of the Board’s deliberations or decision-making process concerning the JVA,” they said.
Also, they claimed that Calajate offered no corroboration whatsoever–no minutes of meetings, no Board resolutions, no communications, and no testimony from other members of the Board of Directors to substantiate his claims.
Thus, they pointed out: “Taken together, the sworn statements of Engineer Calajate amount to a deliberate attempt to attribute responsibility for the JVA and its consequences to other people, specifically to the Spouses Robes, despite the absence of any factual or legal foundation.”
As of posting, Calajate could not be contacted for comment.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.