Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon stressed that ill-gotten funds must be recovered through asset freezing and forfeiture, not merely by jailing erring contractors and officials.
“Hindi sapat 'yung makulong. Hindi sapat 'yung managot. Kailangan ibalik ang pera ng taumbayan,” Dizon said in a press briefing.
He revealed that he will meet the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) on Monday to begin discussions on freezing and eventually forfeiting the assets of contractors and officials implicated in ghost or substandard projects.
"Makipagugnayan tayo sa Anti-Money Laundering Council para sa eventual freezing at forfeiture ng kanilang mga assets para maibalik ang pera ng taong bayan," he said.
Alongside this, Dizon said the DPWH is also enforcing contract bonds, warranties, and securities against contractors to compel repayment for defective or incomplete works.
On Thursday, September 11, the DPWH filed its first batch of cases before the Office of the Ombudsman against several DPWH officials and construction companies allegedly involved in anomalous multi-billion-peso flood control projects.
Dizon further said that the DPWH will file the second batch of complaints next week to the contractor in Oriental Mindoro, which are Sunwest Construction and Development Corp., St. Timothy Construction Corporation and Elite General Contractor and Development Corporation.
"We will be filing similar cases but now against the people involved both within DPWH and the contractors involved in the Oriental Mindoro projects that we saw for ourselves," Dizon said.
Dizon said every criminal case filed will have a “financial counterpart” designed to recover public funds.
The DPWH chief added that the department will file cases "every week" until the Independent Commission on Infrastructure begins its mandated review of infrastructure projects over the past decade.
"Sa susunod na linggo meron ulit. At sa susunod na linggo. At tuloy-tuloy tayo hanggang sa magsimula na ang trabaho ng independent commission. At such time, tayo naman ay magpapasa ng impormasyon at ebidensya sa kanila. Linggo-linggo mag-file ng kaso natin," the DPWH chief said.
