Ex-DPWH exec in Zaldy Co case to cite lack of equipment as defense
MANILA, Philippines —The alleged lack of construction equipment needed to “correctly verify” whether the road dike project in Oriental Mindoro complied with government standards will form part of the defense of a former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official, who is among the co-accused of former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co in a malversation case.
The case against Co and nine DPWH officials before the Sandiganbayan’s Sixth Division stemmed from the P289.4-million Sunwest project in Naujan town, which prosecutors said was found to have serious structural deficiencies, particularly involving its steel sheet piles (SSPs).
READ: Impossible to fix Sunwest’s defective P289.4-M dike project – Dizon
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According to the lawyer of project engineer Felizardo Casuno, their next witness, Jonathan Araullo, officer-in-charge of the Bureau of Quality and Safety in DPWH Region IV-B, is intended to prove their defense regarding SSPs.
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Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez, Sixth Division chair, asked Casuno’s lawyer Dustin Jay Condez what will be the nature of Araullo’s testimony.
“He will testify on the absence or inadequacy of construction equipment to correctly verify the depth of the embedded sheet piles,” Condez said in response.
Fernandez asked prosecutors whether they were willing to stipulate to this fact, but the latter told the court they could not confirm it.
With this matter left unsettled, Araullo will testify on Tuesday (Sept. 29) while Casuno himself will take the witness stand next Thursday (Oct. 1).
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DPWH chief Vince Dizon, who inspected the site in September last year, discovered that the road dike only has a three-meter SSPs, which is far from the 12-meter requirement.
On Wednesday, Dizon testified in the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division on the graft case of Co and his co-accused stemming from the same case. /jpv
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