Lifestyle check: DPWH chief wants to scour land, sea, air
He must be expecting to find not just posh homes and vast landholdings but also private yachts and jets.
Secretary Vince Dizon of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has formally asked the Land Transportation Office, Land Registration Authority, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, and Maritime Industry Authority to check the properties of the 26 contractors and DPWH personnel facing criminal complaints over anomalous flood control projects.
In an interview at the Senate on Thursday, Dizon said he had written the four agencies to gather more evidence of graft against the persons sued by the DPWH last week at the Office of the Ombudsman.
The request for the list of properties and vehicles will be used also in support of the investigation for signs of money laundering and eventual applications for freeze orders, he added.
After dummies, too
Dizon, who was at the Senate for another blue ribbon committee hearing on the flood control mess, said the DPWH would like to have a “full inventory’’ of their properties, which may include motor vehicles, yachts, planes and helicopters.
“We need to determine and eventually freeze these assets. We need to ensure that we recover what can be recovered from those who stole the people’s money,” he said, adding he expected to receive the lists in the next few days. “If we find evidence that would point to their dummies or potential cohorts, we’ll also run after them.”
The lists would be forwarded to the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of the Ombudsman, and the recently created Independent Commission for Infrastructure.
On Aug. 27, President Marcos ordered the conduct of “lifestyle checks” on all government officials, starting with the DPWH. The directive was part of an anticorruption drive that started when he identified the top 15 companies who had cornered the bulk of multimillion-peso flood control projects, many of which turned out to be substandard and ineffective, or were downright “ghost” projects that existed only on paper.
DOJ case buildup
Also at Thursday’s Senate hearing, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said his department was also working on cases to be filed in connection with ghost public works projects.
“We are really monitoring and patiently waiting every day so that we can build up the cases… the due process will give us the earliest window at 40 days to 60 days… 40 would be the fastest. And 60, would be safe,” Remulla said.
“The substandard (projects) will come next,” he said. “It’s like a conspiracy between some people from the DPWH, contractors and legislators and probably some other people.”
