Ombudsman charges 6 DPWH personnel over P491.9-M right-of-way 'scam'

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The Office of the Ombudsman has filed 36 criminal counts against seven current and former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) personnel over alleged irregularities in P491.9 million in right-of-way payments for a road project in General Santos City.

In a statement, the Ombudsman said the cases filed before the Sandiganbayan involve malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents and violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Those charged include former DPWH Region 12 (Soccsksargen) regional director Subair Saro Diron and former assistant regional director Laureano B. Suan Jr., along with five other agency personnel.

The charges comprise 18 counts of malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents under Articles 217 and 171 of the Revised Penal Code, and 18 counts of violating Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Six private individuals were also named in the cases for their alleged participation in the scheme.

The charges arose from payments made for 18 parcels of land supposedly affected by the construction of the Digos-Makar National Road in Barangay Lagao, General Santos City.

The National Bureau of Investigation submitted three reports on the alleged irregularities in 2018 and 2019, prompting the Ombudsman's investigation.

In an affidavit executed in 2017, witness Roberto Catapang Jr. acknowledged his involvement in a group that allegedly worked with government officials to obtain public funds by submitting fabricated documents for purported land acquisitions.

The DPWH Soccsksargen technical working group subsequently approved P491,931,120.20 in payments to claimants whose supporting documents were later found to be falsified, the Ombudsman said.

Investigators also questioned the use of a 2009 property appraisal rate of P3,500 per square meter to compute compensation for land acquired by the government in the early 1990s. The valuation allegedly led to inflated claims for right-of-way payments.

In a separate administrative ruling, the Ombudsman ordered the dismissal of former DPWH Region 12 legal officer Ansare Mariga Busran from government service.—MCG, GMA News

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