The Sandiganbayan has upheld its denial of bail for nine officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) implicated in the malversation of public funds case linked to the controversial ₱289.5 million flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
In a resolution dated March 31, the anti-graft court’s Sixth Division rejected separate motions for reconsideration filed by DPWH Region IV-B officials, including Regional Director Gerald Pacanan, Assistant Regional Directors Gene Ryan Altea and Ruben Santos Jr., Construction Division Chief Dominic Serrano, Project Engineer III Felisardo Casuno, Accountant IV Lerma 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.
“The Court reiterates that the ruling herein is not a pre-judgement of the guilt of the said accused. The Court merely determined the weight of the evidence for the purposes of bail,” the resolution stated.
The ruling, penned by Sixth Division Chairperson and Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez and concurred in by Associate Justices Kevin Narce Vivero and Lord Villanueva, emphasized the strength of the prosecution’s evidence.
“The prosecution’s evidence, however, was able to establish a prima facie case from the best evidence available,” the court noted, adding that Casuno and Pacanan must “present evidence to disprove the same.”
The case stems from an arrest order issued on November 21, 2025, against former Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Zaldy Co, 17 other DPWH officials in Region IV-B, and directors of Sunwest Corporation, the contractor for the Naujan project. Co has since been declared a fugitive from justice.
The nine DPWH officials have already been arraigned and pleaded “not guilty.” Female accused are detained at Camp Karingal in Quezon City, while male officials are held at the Payatas New Jail Facility.
The court underscored the accountability of the officials, citing prior Supreme Court rulings and the Local Government Code:
“Accused Serrano, Cayco, Pacanan, Altea, and Santos, who made their respective certifications and approvals in the pertinent disbursement vouchers, had to act together to disburse the funds of the DPWH. Without any of the said certifications or approvals, the DPWH’s funds could not have been disbursed. Having collective custody or control of the funds of the DPWH, they are considered as accountable officers.”
The resolution further dismissed the officials’ arguments as a “rehash” of earlier claims already addressed in prior rulings.