Oriental Mindoro Gov Dolor affirms as 'substandard' materials used in P289-M project in Naujan town
Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito "Bonz" Dolor affirmed audit findings that the materials used in the construction of the P289 million flood control project in Naujan town were “substandard.”
Dolor testified on Wednesday, Feb. 4, before the Sandiganbayan as a prosecution witness in the petitions for bail filed by the co-accused in the “anomalous’ project.
The petitions were filed by the nine co-accused of former congressman Zaldy Co in the graft and non-bailable malversation of public funds. The nine co-accused officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Region IV-B are now detained.
Co has been out of the country since July 2025. He has filed a petition before the SC and sought the nullification of the charges filed against him by the Office of the Ombudsman. His SC petition was signed in Sweden. The SC has reset the deliberation on Co’s petition to Wednesday next week, Feb. 11.
During the bail hearing, Dolor echoed the testimony made by Commission on Audit (COA) Region IV-B Technical Auditor Raymundo Manalo on Tuesday and said that the sheet piles used for the project were indeed "substandard."
He also confirmed that the sheet piles only measured three meters even though the contract specifications stated that it should be 12 meters. This anomaly, he said, was further exposed during instances of flooding in the area.
He emphasized that the sheet piles serve as the foundation of the road dike project.
The prosecution's next witness on Thursday, Feb. 5, will be COA Auditor Victoriano Acosta.
Co’s co-accused -- DPWH Region IV-B Regional Director Gerald A. Pacanan, Assistant Regional Director Gene Ryan A. Altea, Assistant Regional Director Ruben D. Santos, Jr., Construction Division Chief Dominic G. Serrano, Project Engineer III Felisardo S. Casuno, Accountant IV Lerma D. Cayco, Maintenance Division Head Juliet Calvo, officer-in-charge Chief of Quality Assurance and Hydrology Division Dennis Pelo Abagon, and Planning and Design Division officer-in-charge Montrexis Tamayo – have pleaded “not guilty” to the malversation charges.