It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has filed malversation and graft charges against 21 DPWH officials and two contractors before the Office of the Ombudsman over flood control projects in La Union and Davao Occidental worth P276 million in total.
These are P96.5 million worth of ghost projects in Davao Occidental and two phases of the unfinished flood control projects in La Union worth P89.7 million each.
"The Davao Occidental project was never completed. And the construction that was started there was started only last August of this year, already three years since the supposed completion and full payment of the project. So it is clearly a ghost project," DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said.
"On the other hand, this La Union project, again, is a substandard project. Again, fully paid but not yet completed," he added.
The contractor for the Davao Occidental project is St. Timothy Construction, owned by Curlee and Sarah Discaya, while the contractor for the La Union project is Silverwolves Construction.
(All the bidding, project implementation, paying the contractors, all of these happen at the district engineering office. All the payments, approval and certification.)
(Those are the initial persons we sued because it is where the evidence leads us.)
Likewise, Dizon and Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said the Ombudsman will also probe allegations that Benguet Lone District Representative Eric Yap is a beneficial owner of Silverwolves Construction and that Davao Occidental Rep. Claude Bautista’s involvement in the ghost project in his jurisdiction.
“A person of interest here is Congressman Eric Yap who is known to be the beneficial owner of the company (Silverwolves). He divested from it a few years ago, supposedly, but there is reason to suspect that he's still the beneficial owner of the company, so there's a clear case of conflict of interest also, punishable also under Republic Act 3019 (Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices),” Remulla said.
Yap served as the House committee on appropriations chairman from 2020 to 2022.
“We will also look into the allegations that Claude Bautista, the congressman from there, at that time, I think, siya pa yung congressman, is the beneficial owner of the construction company,” Remulla added.
The Department of Public Works and Highways has filed malversation and graft charges against 21 DPWH officials and two contractors before the Office of the Ombudsman over flood control projects in La Union and Davao Occidental worth P276 million in total.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2025/10/24/sandiganbayan-convicts-ex-nldc-exec-amata-2-others-on-p145-m-pdaf |
The Sandiganbayan convicted former National Livelihood Development Corporation (NLDC) president Gondelina G. Amata, businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, and a former Senate political officer in the misuse of former senator Gregorio B. Honasan's P14.5 million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in 2009.
Amata, Napoles, and then chief political officer Michael Lim Benjamin were found guilty of graft, malversation of public funds, and malversation through falsification of public documents in a decision promulgated on Friday, Oct. 24.
They were sentenced to six to 10 years imprisonment for graft with perpetual special disqualification from holding public office and loss of all retirement benefits.
For the crime of malversation, they were sentenced to 12 to 17 years imprisonment with perpetual disqualification from holding public office. They were likewise ordered to pay a fine of P4,050,000 million and return to the government the amount of P4,050,000 with interest at six percent per annum.
For malversation through falsification, they were sentenced to 12 to 17 years imprisonment as well as pay a fine of P7.5 million. They were also ordered to pay back the government, jointly and severally, the amount of P7.5 million with interest of six percent per annum.
They were sentenced to six to 12 years imprisonment for the two other malversation thru falsification conviction, and ordered to pay fines of P1.5 million for each conviction and return P1.5 million with six percent interest per annum.
Their conviction stemmed from the misuse of Honasan's P14.5 million PDAF intended for the implementation of livelihood projects in San Agustin, Surigao del Sur in 2009.
Amata entered into a memorandum of agreement with Agri & Economic Program for Farmers Foundation, Inc. (AEPFFI) as the non-government organization (NGO) partner and implementer of the said livelihood projects.
However, Napoles’ AEPFFI was created to divert the PDAF allocations, the prosecution said.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2129745/ex-baguio-lawmaker-faces-contempt-raps |
Government lawyers have filed contempt charges with the Court of Appeals (CA) against a former Baguio lawmaker for allegedly violating a 2014 writ of kalikasan issued by the Supreme Court and a 2015 permanent environmental protection order (Pepo) from the CA involving his mountain property.
Nicasio Aliping, a lawyer and former representative of Baguio’s lone congressional district (2013-2016), is the subject of an Oct. 14 motion for contempt filed by Solicitor General Darlene Marie Berberabe, accusing Aliping of improving his property atop the mountain, which straddles Baguio City and the Benguet town of Tuba, in direct violation of the appellate court’s directive.
The charges stemmed from deep excavations on a 3,114-hectare portion of the Mt. Sto. Tomas Forest Reserve, which resulted in the destruction of 700 trees and the disruption of a water source serving Baguio City.
The Pepo mandates that Aliping “permanently cease and desist from performing acts to develop or enhance the property he claims at the Sto. Tomas Forest Reserve.” This includes bulldozing, leveling, any earthmoving activities, improving the old building on the land, or constructing any new structures.
Lawyer Francisca Macli-ing Claver, counsel for Baguio and Tuba residents who sought the writ in 2014, lauded the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for acting on their behalf. The OSG’s case is based on an April 7 monitoring report from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Cordillera office, which confirmed that Aliping made changes to his Sto. Tomas property in December 2023 and had completed these improvements by April 2024.
The DENR’s regional enforcement division, which inspected Aliping’s property, had requested that Baguio’s Community Environment and Natural Resources Office issue him a notice of violation.
The OSG also urged the court to order the demolition of all improvements Aliping has made at Mt. Sto. Tomas “at his own expense.”
Sought for comment, Aliping said on Friday that his right to the property in the forest reserve was established by a 2021 court decision, in which he was acquitted of forest law violations by Municipal Circuit Trial Court Judge Noe Aquino of Tuba-Sablan.He said the court ruled that his tax declarations for the Sto. Tomas land he purchased were valid and that it was up to the Tuba municipal government to go through the proper legal process to nullify tax declarations within the Sto. Tomas reserve.
Aliping also questioned the Pepo, arguing it held him responsible for the excavations without due process. However, the SC dismissed his complaint in a 2022 ruling and upheld the Pepo.
Aliping claimed he was being unfairly singled out in the OSG’s actions, as other landowners in Mt. Sto. Tomas had not been reprimanded for similar activities.
“I read about my new charges on social media. Is it illegal to improve and renovate your property? Everyone in the area has been making improvements. In fact, some are building new structures, but I am once again the villain,” he said in a series of text messages.
Aliping also pointed to the DENR as a respondent in the writ of kalikasan, saying, “The DENR allowed more or less 91 titles to be issued in the area. That act of the DENR is obviously illegal. The DENR should be investigated.”
The DENR report said that Aliping’s property, originally a small structure made of wood and galvanized iron sheets, has now been transformed into a concrete building. The property was reportedly being used to accommodate guests when inspectors came in December 2023 and April 2024.
Aliping’s brother, Gil, has been serving as the caretaker of the Sto. Tomas property, while another brother, Brian, has allegedly purchased an adjoining lot, the DENR report said.
In 2023, Aliping requested permission from DENR to repair his property twice, but both requests were denied.
Aliping maintained the Sto. Tomas lot is not intended for commercial use. The property, now known as Nicasio Farm, features gardens planted with taro and strawberries, he said.
Government lawyers have filed contempt charges with the Court of Appeals against a former Baguio lawmaker for allegedly violating a 2014 writ of kalikasan issued by the Supreme Court and a 2015 permanent environmental protection order from the CA involving his mountain property.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2129811/police-major-who-allegedly-sexually-harassed-pnpa-cadet-faces-more-raps |
More administrative and criminal cases have been filed against the police major who allegedly sexually harassed a Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) cadet, the National Police Commission (Napolcom) said on Friday.
The development came after two more cadets allegedly sexually harassed by the police major — a tactical officer in the academy whom both the PNP and Napolcom did not name — came forward.
“They reported it to us last Sept. 16. I talked to them myself,” Napolcom Vice Chairperson and Executive Officer Rafael Calinisan said in Filipino in an interview with reporters at their Quezon City office on Friday.
“We investigated it and the cases here in the National Police Commission, the admin cases, those were filed Oct. 15, if I’m not mistaken,” he added.
As for the criminal cases, only one of the two new victims filed a complaint for sexual harassment before the Silang, Cavite court against the police major, according to PNPA Director Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon in an interview Thursday night on DZMM.
While Dizon did not say when the supposed incidents of the two new cases took place, he said the police major allegedly took each of the three victims to his personal quarters and sexually harassed them there.
“All of his victims had pending case before the PNPA. He offered to help them and those he approached really hoped for his assistance. That’s how he was able to do it.”The first victim was allegedly sexually harassed early morning last July 31.
He filed a complaint for acts of lasciviousness against the police major before the Silang-Amadeo Municipal Circuit Trial Court on Aug. 7.
The Napolcom formally charged the police major for grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer last Aug. 22.
“This incident is really isolated because we truly did not expect an officer to act this way,” Dizon said.
“All of those assigned here undergo vetting or a complete background investigation. This time, we tightened it in such a way that even their personal activities are being monitored,” he added.
More administrative and criminal cases have been filed against the police major who allegedly sexually harassed a Philippine National Police Academy cadet, the National Police Commission said on Friday.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2025/10/26/sk-councilor-caught-in-silay-city-drug-sting |
A 24-year-old Sangguniang Kabataan councilor was apprehended on Saturday, Oct. 25, in a buy-bust operation in Silay City, Negros Occidental.
The suspect Matthew was arrested after he sold suspected shabu valued at P2,800 to a police poseur-buyer.
Seized from the suspect were seven grams of shabu worth P47,600 and non-drug evidence.
Police Lt. Col. Mark Anthony Darroca, Silay police chief, said Matthew was identified as a source of illegal drugs by a 29-year-old man who was nabbed in a buy-bust operation in Barangay E. Lopez, Silay City on Oct. 17.
Police conducted a follow-up operation where they verified the information.
Barroca said Matthew was a high-value individual in the illegal drugs trade and the 11th government official arrested for a drug offense in the city under his stint.
The barangay official, who was apprehended for the first time for drug peddling, faces drug-related charges.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2130392/camanava-cop-arrested-for-taking-murder-suspect-out-of-custody |
The chief of the Northern Police District Special Operations Unit (NPD SOU) was arrested and relieved from his post for allegedly taking a detained murder suspect out of custody without authorization.
The detainee was held at the DSOU detention facility but was discovered missing after an inspection of the jail late Saturday afternoon, according to National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) public information chief Maj. Hazel Asilo.
“When we were looking for them, our duty jailer called our police officer and found that the missing detainee was with him during the random inspection,” Asilo said in a phone interview with reporters in Camp Crame on Monday.
“Based on what the police officer said, he utilized the detainee for a case build-up,” she added, noting that the officer has yet to detail what case it was for.
Asilo said two NPD officers arrested the then-DSOU chief at his office and returned the detainee to the jail later that Saturday, but they have yet to determine where exactly he took the detainee outside the custodial facility.
The NCRPO public information chief said the apprehended police officer will undergo inquest proceedings for a possible criminal case for violation of Article 223 of the Revised Penal Code, which pertains to conniving with or consenting to evasion of service of sentence.
She added that the NCRPO was exploring whether it can file an administrative case for grave misconduct against the then-DSOU chief.INQUIRER.net opted not to identify both the then-NPD SOU chief and the detainee allegedly taken out of custody until it is able to reach them for comment.
The chief of the Northern Police District Special Operations Unit (NPD SOU) was arrested and relieved from his post for allegedly taking a detained murder suspect out of custody without authorization.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has filed new malversation and graft complaints before the Ombudsman against several of its officials and contractors over P275.9 million worth of substandard flood control projects in La Union and Davao Occidental.
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon personally submitted the complaints on Thursday, October 23, saying the move aims to “expedite the filing of cases.” At the same time, he and the Ombudsman named three lawmakers as persons of interest in the flood control controversy.
The Davao Occidental case involves a P96.5-million flood control project, with eight DPWH officials from the province’s district engineering office among those charged.
Also charged was contractor Sarah Discaya, owner of St. Timothy Construction Corp., which won the flood control project.
Speaking at a press conference, Dizon described it as a ghost project that was supposed to be completed in 2022. Construction, however, only began after the government launched its investigation into flood control anomalies, and law enforcement later found that the project was never completed.
“So far, it's already been three years since the supposed completion and full payment of the project. So it is clearly a ghost project,” he said.
Meanwhile, the La Union case, Dizon said, involves two phases of a flood control project split into contracts worth P89.7 million each, totaling P179.5 million.
The project was awarded to Silverwolves Construction Corp., represented by its general manager, Moises Tabucol, and has already been fully paid.
Twelve officials from the DPWH La Union 2nd District Engineering Office were also charged alongside Tabucol.
According to Ombudsman Boying Remulla, Reps. Edvic and Eric Yap are two more persons of interest in the La Union flood control project, saying Eric held a stake in Silverwolves Construction a few years back. Dizon said Baguio City Mayor Benjie Magalong gave them the lead.
“He divested from it a few years ago supposedly, but there is reason to suspect that he’s still the beneficial owner of the company,” Remulla said.
He also noted that Eric served as House appropriations chair from 2020 to 2022, the same period when the Discayas were awarded the La Union flood control project.
The connection became more apparent when the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) discovered the Discayas had once transmitted around P70 million to Edvic’s bank account, Remulla said.
“So we saw that there is really a pattern — they were clearly involved in the contract because the money was transmitted from the Discayas,” Remulla said in mixed Filipino and English.
This, he stressed, constituted a “clear case of conflict of interest” for the Yaps, which is punishable under Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
“Of course he’s trying to hide that,” he added.
Remulla also tagged Rep. Salvador Pleyto (Bulacan, 6th District) as another lawmaker who received funds from the Discayas, according to findings from the AMLC. Pleyto was the president of S.A. Pleyto Construction Corp.
Edvic, Eric and Pleyto have yet to issue statements in response to the allegations against them.
Normally, filed complaints are first evaluated. However, since government documents are presumed to be regular, Remulla said the cases will proceed directly to a preliminary investigation.
The DPWH first filed cases against government contractors and the agency's officials before the Ombudsman in September.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has filed new malversation and graft complaints before the Ombudsman against several of its officials and contractors over P275.9 million worth of substandard flood control projects in La Union and Davao Occidental.
A Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Palawan has found Culion Mayor Cesar de Vera and his wife Maria Virginia, who also once served as the town’s chief executive, guilty of child abuse in violation of Section 10(a) of Republic Act No. 7610, or the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.
Acting Presiding Judge Ryan Hartzell Balisacan of the Coron Regional Trial Court Branch 163, in a ruling dated October 24, sentenced the couple to four to six years of imprisonment and ordered them to pay a P15,000 fine and P40,000 for moral and exemplary damages to the family of the complainant.
The case stemmed from a complaint filed by the parents of a male minor who accused the De Veras of physical abuse at the Culion Municipal Police Station in June 2018. The complainants’ child was 15 years old at the time.
In 2023, the couple pleaded not guilty, after which a trial ensued, with the prosecution presenting the victim, his mother and six other witnesses.
The victim recalled that he and his friends, who were brought to the station by police officers, were “mauled inside the Culion police station.”
He also stated that he was initially surprised to learn that he was among those summoned by police at the mayor’s instruction.
The boy told his mother that he and his friends voluntarily went to the Culion police station at around 2 p.m. on the day of the incident.
At the station, the De Veras allegedly conspired to “physically abuse him, slapping and punching him and pulling his hair,” actions that he said placed him in a situation “prejudicial” to his development and well-being.Meanwhile, Mayor De Vera has continuously denied the accusations.
In a statement, he said the case stemmed not from the alleged physical abuse, which they vehemently denied, but from an alleged sexual abuse and attempted rape incident involving their daughter seven years ago.
“The root of this case is not the assault that we vehemently deny, but the attempted defilement and humiliation of our minor daughter seven years ago—a victim of a planned rape, passing around and dumping in the mangroves,” De Vera said in Filipino.
The mayor said that while they respected the RTC’s decision, they would elevate the case to the Court of Appeals.
“We believe that justice and truth will prevail. This is the process according to law,” De Vera said.
He added: “In a world full of dangers, only a parent’s love and protection will prevail and bring peace of mind; it is a parent’s right to defend their child against any form of abuse and immorality.”
A Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Palawan has found Culion Mayor Cesar de Vera and his wife Maria Virginia, who also once served as the town’s chief executive, guilty of child abuse in violation of Section 10(a) of Republic Act No. 7610, or the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.
The National Police Commission (Napolcom) on Tuesday filed formal administrative charges against 11 police officers for the alleged abduction of two supposed drug suspects in 2021.
In a press briefing at the Napolcom central office in Quezon City, Inspection, Monitoring and Investigation Service (IMIS) Director Edman Pares said the following officers were charged with two counts each of grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer.
INQUIRER.net opted not to name the officers charged until it could obtain their comments.
However, according to the formal charge document shown to reporters, the officers were members of the National Capital Region Police Office Drug Enforcement Unit (NCRPO DEU) at the time of the alleged abductions.
“As a result of our pre-charge investigation, because of the probability that a kidnapping occurred, we will be filing two counts of grave misconduct. And because of those acts of grave misconduct, we also filed two counts of conduct unbecoming,” he said, speaking in Filipino.
The charges stem from a complaint by mothers Milagros Estacio and Elizabeth Sotto, who accuse the officers of abducting their sons, Dane Mark Carlos and Charles Dean Sotto, in anti-drug operations on February 17, 2021, and March 24, 2021, respectively.
“They have documentary pieces of evidence that will show that the respondents abducted their children. Primarily, their evidence relies on the CCTV footage they submitted, and also on some other statements corroborating evidence from other witnesses,” he added.Napolcom did not make the documents, footage, and statements available at the briefing.
Four of the officers being charged are also respondents in Napolcom’s administrative case against them over the reported abduction and killing of at least 34 cockfighting enthusiasts (sabungeros) between April 2021 and January 2022.
“They are independent cases. That case should be viewed independently of the other cases. They shouldn’t be clumped together,” Napolcom Vice Chairperson and Executive Officer Rafael Calinisan clarified in the press briefing.
“Though we know there’s this case, we’re talking about the cold neutrality of an impartial judge,” Calinisan added.
Calinisan previously said the resolution against the police officers’ administrative case for the sabungeros’ disappearance is “already completed” and they were only waiting for the Department of Justice to resolve the criminal case first.
The National Police Commission on Tuesday filed formal administrative charges against 11 police officers for the alleged abduction of two supposed drug suspects in 2021.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1262017 |
The Sandiganbayan Fourth Division has ordered the arrest of Pagsanjan Mayor Jeorge “ER” Ejercito Estregan and Marilyn M. Bruel for the service of their sentence following their final conviction for graft.
Officers of the United Boatmen Association of Pagsanjan (UBAP) presented to the media on Tuesday, during a press conference at David’s Tea House in Calamba City, the minutes of the Sandiganbayan proceedings dated Oct. 20, 2025.
“The judgment of conviction rendered in the case against accused Jeorge Ejercito Estregan and Marilyn M. Bruel having already become final and executory, let the corresponding Warrant of Arrest be issued against them for service of their sentence,” the Sandiganbayan resolution stated.
UBAP chairperson Jose Rivera expressed the group’s elation over what he described as a long-awaited triumph of justice, noting that their fight began in October 2008.
“This ruling marks a historic victory not only for our group but for the people of Pagsanjan who have long sought accountability, honesty, and integrity in public service. This proves that justice continues to prevail in our country and that no one is above the law,” Rivera said.
Estregan and Bruel, proprietor of First Rapids Care Ventures (FRCV), were earlier found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
They were sentenced to an indeterminate penalty of six years and one month to a maximum of eight years of imprisonment, with perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
The Sandiganbayan Fourth Division has ordered the arrest of Pagsanjan Mayor Jeorge “ER” Ejercito Estregan and Marilyn M. Bruel for the service of their sentence following their final conviction for graft.
