The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday announced that malversation and related cases involving former engineers of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are scheduled for pre-trial on April 13 before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC).
DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said three sets of cases—covering malversation, falsification, perjury, and graft—were filed against Brice Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza, and others.
The complaints, initially lodged in January and February before the Bulacan RTC, stem from projects undertaken by SYMS Construction in Bulacan.
“Following Supreme Court Resolution A.M 25-10-24-SC, the cases were then transferred to RTC QC as a designated special court for corruption-related cases arising from anomalous flood control and infrastructure projects,” Martinez said in a statement.
Martinez explained that the DOJ conducted a preliminary investigation into the malversation charges and, since the respondents were below Salary Grade 27, the cases were directly filed before the RTCs.
He also clarified that cases against former Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara and SYMS Construction owner Sally Santos were dismissed.
“To clarify, by virtue of his admission as state witness by the WPP, Henry Alcantara was dropped as respondent and not included in the Information filed in court,” Martinez said.
Earlier, Alcantara, Santos, former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, and engineer Gerard Opulence were declared state witnesses by the DOJ.