P3.1M ‘fix’ aims to stop probe on project anomalies
A DISTRICT engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has been arrested for allegedly attempting to bribe Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, the provincial police said yesterday.
Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste said he is set to file a complaint today against district engineer Abelardo Calalo who allegedly tried to bribe him in exchange for stopping the congressman’s investigation into anomalies hounding infrastructure projects in his district.
A police report said Calalo offered the bribe “to dissuade Cong. Leviste from investigating DPWH projects in the 1st District (of Batangas).
Batangas police director Col. Geovanny Emerick Sibalo said Cabalo, 51, was arrested last Friday in Taal town in the act of bribing Leviste. The alleged bribery was reported to the police by a staff member of Leviste, he said.
“We received information about an ongoing attempt to bribe the congressman. We proceeded to the area and caught the person in the act of attempting to bribe (Leviste),” Sibalo said in an interview with the radio dzBB.
Recovered during the operation was around P3.1 million in bribe money which the police said will be used as evidence against Calalo.
“This is not the usual entrapment operation … We responded based on reliable information and they (policemen) caught him in the area,” said Sibalo.
Sibalo said Calalo did not resist arrest. “He was cooperative and we gave him his right to due process.”
“Our policemen followed regulations. All the evidence were properly inventoried,” Sibalo added.
Leviste, a neophyte lawmaker and a billionaire businessman before he joined politics, did not say what specific charges will be filed against Calalo but it will be lodged before the Office of the Batangas Provincial Prosecutor.
“We should not tolerate any corruption in DPWH,” said Leviste, a son of Sen. Loren Legarda and former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste.
The 32-year-old Leviste said the public “should demand projects at better quality and lower cost, and obligate contractors to correct any deficiencies immediately without additional cost to government.”
“Beyond this case, we will push for broader reforms to address systemic problems of DPWH,” he said.
BETRAYAL
Rep. Chel Diokno (PL, Akbayan) denounced the attempt to bribe his fellow House member, saying it was “very concerning.”
“This has to be addressed immediately and we have to ensure those involved will be made accountable. This kind of activity is not only about taking advantage of one’s position but a betrayal of the people’s trust,” he said in Filipino.
Diokno said Calalo’s arrest should set an example to all corrupt public officials.
“The public is watching. They will not allow and will continue to fight so that the country’s coffers will not be raided,” he said.
The House tri-committee, also known as the Infrastructure Committee, will include the bribery attempt in its investigation into anomalous flood control projects.
“The bribery attempt may be the subject of future House Infrastructure Committee hearings,” said Rep. Terry Ridon (PL, Bicol Saro), chair of the Committee on Public Accounts, told a TV interview.
The two other panels that compose the tri-comm are the Good Government and Public Accountability, and Public Works and Highways.
Ridon said Leviste and Calalo may be invited to the hearing.
“We may ask Rep. Leviste to provide further details in the hearing and invite all concerned persons to provide further information, including the district engineer,” he said.
BAGMEN
Sen. Panfilo Lacson praised Leviste for rejecting the bribe and said the latter is someone for lawmakers to follow due to his “integrity and idealism” in having the engineer arrested in a sting operation.
Citing information he got, Lacson said Calalo brought P3.6 million in cash for Leviste supposedly as an initial payment, to be followed by P15 million. He said the bribe offer was related to the reported P3.6 billion worth of approved budget under the 2025 General Appropriations Act in the form of kickbacks, which was supposed to represent 10 percent (or P360 million), or an increase from the usual 5 to 6 percent “passing through” fees for district representative having jurisdiction over the project site.
He said “somebody more powerful” must be behind the whole scheme “because this involved P3.6 billion worth of projects approved under the 2025 General Appropriations Act.”
Lacson also said the foiled bribery may indicate that DPWH district officials have become “legmen” and “bagmen” of powerful contractors and/or “funders” or the lawmakers responsible for insertions in the General Appropriations Act.
He expressed belief Calalo is far from being a “big fish” but his arrest “reinforces my theory that some DPWH officials, at least at the district engineer level, have already been relegated to being legmen and worse, bagmen of some powerful contractors or funders responsible for the insertions in the budget.”
He said an investigation into Calalo’s case should be deep enough to determine under whose direction Calalo was offering the bribe money.
“An I’m not referring to higher DPWH officials but to the ‘funders’ or the lawmakers who made the insertions in the 2025 GAA,” he added.
He said the PNP or even the National Bureau of Investigation should step in to pursue an expanded and more extensive probe and not stop at the filing of the case against Calalo.
“They should find out who is/are behind this bribe offer,” he added.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo asked the Department of Justice to file charges against contractors, public works officials, and several politicians involved in alleged substandard and “ghost” flood control projects.
He said revelations of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Lacson regarding the questionable flood control projects “are already enough grounds to file charges and jail those involved.”
“They stole trillions of pesos from the people, so they must be held accountable … If a shoplifter can be jailed for stealing something worth less than a hundred pesos, then those who plundered trillions in public funds must face even harsher consequences,” he said.
Marcos earlier said that 15 contractors were awarded some P100 billion worth of government flood control projects.
Tulfo, vice chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, said that of the 15 contractors, five of them have been reportedly leasing out their licenses, including Legacy Construction Corp., Alpha and Omega General Contractor and Development, St. Timothy Construction, EGB Construction, and Road Edge Trading and Development Services.
Lacson, in a privilege speech last week, said three contractors were allegedly involved in ghost flood control projects in Bulacan. These are the Wawao Builders, SYMS Construction, and Darcy and Anna Builders.
“At the end of the day, the blame lies with certain politicians. Because of excessive kickbacks they demanded — ranging from 20 to 25 percent — contractors were forced to deliver substandard work or worse, no project at all,” he added.
SUBPOENAS
The office of Senate President Francis Escudero yesterday said Escudero has signed subpoenas for eight of the 15 contractors who skipped last week’s hearing of the Blue Ribbon Committee.
The subpoenas will be sent to them today.
The eight are Cezarah C. Discaya, president of Alpha and Omega General Contractor and Development Corp.; Ma. Roma Angeline D. Rimando, owner/manager of St. Timothy Construction Corp.; Eumir Villanueva, president, Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc.; Aderma Angelie Alcazar, president/CEO, Sunwest Inc.; Edgar S. Acosta, president, Hi-Tone Construction and Development Corp.; Romeo C. Miranda, president, Royal Crown Monarch Construction and Supplies Corp.; Mark Allan V. Arevalo, general manager, Wawao Builders; and Luisito R. Tiqui, president, L.R. Tiqui Builders.
The Blue Ribbon Committee has yet to schedule its next hearing.
NO PERMITS
Calalo’s arrest followed the sacking of the district engineer of Las Piñas and Muntinlupa after Las Piñas City Rep. Mark Anthony Santos questioned the engineer’s involvement in alleged questionable transactions, including unauthorized transfer of funds for flood control projects
In Las Piñas City, Santos yesterday said 42 DPWH building projects have no permits based on the confirmation of the City Engineering Office.
Santos said acting city engineer Michael Aguilar told him the Las Piñas-Muntinlupa District Engineering Office, previously headed by district engineer Isabelo Baleros, “failed to secure any building permit from the city government when the construction of the projects began earlier this year.”
Baleros was sacked last week by Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, and reassigned to the DPWH Metro Manila 3rd District Engineering Office under the NCR Region.
Santos earlier accused Baleros of involvement in “anomalous transactions involving irregular fund transfers, questionable project prioritization, and a blatant disregard for coordination with local government officials.”
“As of today, our inspectors have conducted inspections of all 42 DPWH building projects. A careful examination of our records showed that none of the said projects has a building permit on file,” Aguilar told Santos in a letter, responding to the lawmaker’s inquiry.
Aguilar noted that out of the projects inspected, 19 have already been completed while seven are still being constructed.
He said 15 projects with ongoing activities were promptly issued notices of violation, while one project was halted after being served with the same notice.
Aguilar said Baleros and his personnel violated DPWH Department Order No. 222, Series of 2002, as well as multiple ordinances enacted by the Las Piñas City Council.
Santos said the City Engineering Office has directed the concerned private contractors and government offices “to immediately secure the required building, electrical, and plumbing permits, along with zoning and barangay clearances.”
He warned that structures that have not been issued permits pose serious risks to the public.
“If an illegal structure collapses or violates a neighbor’s easement, the owner is solidarily liable, while architects and engineers who signed plans for such projects may face Professional Regulatory Commission suspension under RA 9266 and RA 544,” the lawmaker said.
For the past two decades, Santos said, several public works projects in Las Piñas “have been spurious and bogus since private contractors and DPWH engineers never attempted to acquire the necessary permits.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Francis Pangilinan said contractors who constructed a dike in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, which collapsed due to recent heavy rains and massive floods, must be held liable and compelled to indemnify farmers after 150 hectares of rice field was buried under gravel and sand.
“We also call on the Department of Public Works and Highways and concerned local government agencies to explain their role in the disaster. Were construction standards followed? Was the project properly inspected and monitored? If there was negligence, then government agencies should also be accountable,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English. – With Raymond Africa
“We demand swift action — indemnification for the farmers, accountability for those responsible and urgent reforms to ensure this will never happen again,” he added.
