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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 8 accused in P289.5-M 'anomalous' flood control project plead 'not guilty' to graft charge

8 accused in P289.5-M 'anomalous' flood control project plead 'not guilty' to graft charge

Published Nov 27, 2025 11:19 am
Eight of the 16 accused in the “anomalous” P289.5 million flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro pleaded "not guilty" to the graft charge when arraigned on Thursday, Nov. 27, by the Sandiganbayan’s fifth division.
After the arraignment, the preliminary conference was set by the anti-graft court for Jan. 9, 19, and 26, 2026 starting at 9 a.m., while the pre-trial was set for Feb. 5, 12, 19, and 26, also starting at 9 a.m.
The court’s fifth division is composed of Associate Justice Zaldy V. Trespeses as chairperson with members Associate Justices Maryann E. Corpus-Manalac and Gener M. Gito.
Those who pleaded “not guilty” were former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region IV-B director Gerald A. Pacanan, assistant regional directors Gene Ryan A. Altea and Ruben D. Santos Jr., Construction Division chief Dominic G. Serrano, project engineer III Felisardo S. Casuno, accountant IV Lerma D. Cayco, officer-in-charge of Quality Assurance and Hydrology Division Dennis Pelo Abagon, and Planning and Design Division officer-in-charge Montrexis Tamayo.
They were charged with violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
RA 3019 is violated under Section 3(e) for “causing any undue injury to any party, including the government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence.”
The arraignment for co-accused, materials engineer Juliet Cabungan Calvo, has been reset to Dec. 2 since the court was unable to issue a produce order for her to appear on Thursday, Nov. 27.
The eight accused, together with resigned congressman Zaldy Co and six others who have not been accounted for, are also facing a case for alleged violation of Article 171(4) of the Revised Penal Code or malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents before the Sandiganbayan’s sixth division. Their arraignment on the charges has been set for Dec. 2.
Co, who is out of the country and is now considered a fugitive from justice, is also facing a graft charge solely before the court’s seventh division.
He and co-accused materials engineer Timojen Adiong Sacar, Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation president Aderma Angelie D. Alcazar, Sunwest treasurer Cesar X. Buenaventura, and board of directors members Consuelo Dayto Aldon, Engineer Noel Yao Cao, and Anthony L. Ngo are still at-large.
The criminal cases were filed by the Office of the Ombudsman before the Sandiganbayan based on the probe conducted by DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon and Oriental Mindoro Gov. Bonz Dolor on the irregular P289.5 million flood control project in for the Construction of a Road Dike along the Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Naujan town.
They discovered that the steel sheet piles used for the dike were grossly below the required standards, and there was an exposed pile length of 2.5 meters, and another 0.6 meter was embedded in the pile cap.
Overall, there was a total of only three meters, which is far from the 12-meter specification stated in the Detailed Engineering Design, they said.
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