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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DPWH regional official pleads 'not guilty' on graft charge

DPWH regional official pleads 'not guilty' on graft charge

Published Dec 2, 2025 01:37 pm
Another official of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Region IV-B (DPWH-IV-B) pleaded “not guilty” when arraigned on the graft charge by the Sandiganbayan’s fifth division on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
DPWH-IV-B Maintenance Division Head Juliet C. Calvo was brought to the anti-graft court from Camp Karingal in Quezon City. She had earlier posted a P90,000 bail bond on her graft case.
Calvo’s co-accused – former regional 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 Chief of Quality Assurance and Hydrology Division Dennis Pelo Abagon, and Planning and Design Division officer-in-charge Montrexis Tamayo already entered "not guilty" pleas last Nov. 27.
Only Calvo was not arraigned since the court was unable to issue a produce order for her to appear last Thursday.
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 nine of them are also facing a non-bailable violation of Article 171(4) of the Revised Penal Code or malversation of public funds through Falsification of public documents before the anti-graft court’s six division. They have yet to be arraigned.
Their co-accused, resigned congressman Zaldy Co remains at large and was reported to be out of the country.
Co is also facing a graft charge solely before the court’s seventh division.
Other accused who remained at large are materials engineer Timojen Adiong Sacar, as well as Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation President Aderma Angelie D. Alcazar, Treasurer Cesar X. Buenaventura, and board of directors Consuelo Dayto Aldon, Engineer Noel Yao Cao, and Anthony L. Ngo.
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 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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