Jamaine Punzalan

The Sandiganbayan building in Quezon Cit on February 19, 2020 Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Job Manahan

ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED) – The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division has rejected the request for bail of 9 regional officials from DPWH-Mimaropa tagged in the alleged irregularities in the road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, upholding the weight of evidence against them. DPWH-Mimaropa officials Gerald Pacanan, Gene Altea, Ruben Delos Santos Jr., Dominic Serrano, Lerma Cayco, Felisardo Casuno, Dennis Abagon, Juliet Calvo and Montrexis Tamayo filed their respective petitions for bail, saying the charges against them were “based on mere speculations, conjectures, and assumptions.” They also argued that the pieces of evidence against them were weak.But in the 41-page resolution released by the anti-graft court handling their malversation case, Sandiganbayan Chairperson Sarah Jane T. Fernandez denied the petition for bail filed by the 9 accused officials, based on the bail hearings conducted last month. Sandiganbayan justices earlier said the bail hearings would not determine the final guilt of the accused, rather, it sought to determine whether or not the pieces of evidence against them are strong.This would ultimately be the basis on whether or not the anti-graft court would grant their bail petition.“Using the standard of evident guilt or presumption of guilt as defined in People v. Cabral, this Court finds that accused Altea, Santos, Serrano, Tamayo, Abagon, Calvo, Cayco, Pacanan, and Casuno are not entitled to bail,” the resolution read. “It must be emphasized that the Court&#x27;s ruling herein is not a prejudgment of the guilt of the said accused. The Court merely determined the weight of evidence for the purposes of bail,” it added. <div> </div><div>DISCUSSION </div>The Sandiganbayan conducted several hearings since January 2026 for the accused’s bail petition over their alleged involvement in the P289.5-million road dike project in Oriental Mindoro.Last week, the court held the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/3/sandiganbayan-begins-trial-of-zaldy-co-dpwh-mimaropa-execs-over-mindoro-dike-1446">first day of trial</a> for the malversation case, with Oriental Mindoro’s provincial engineer taking the stand. The anti-graft court said the prosecution’s evidence in the bail hearings showed Casuno certified the supporting documents, which in effect represented “that the works for which Sunwest was claiming payment were accomplished in accordance with the required specifications.”“Accused Serrano certified the legality and propriety of the expense, while accused Cayco certified the completeness of the supporting documents. Finally, accused Pacanan, Altea, and Santos approved the pertinent disbursement vouchers,” a portion of the resolution read. Abagon, Calvo, and Tamayo, meanwhile, only had a “limited” participation according to the anti-graft court, by only signing the “noted” portion of the Certificate of Inspection for the first progress billing of the road dike project.During the bail hearings, the counsel of Altea – a former assistant regional director of DPWH – argued that the certificate of inspection bearing his client’s signature contained a “with noted” remark and did not indicate he certified the inspection.One of COA-Mimaropa’s state auditors argued, however, the term “with noted” carries the same meaning as “certified” in inspection certificates because signatories are considered certifying officers privy to the transactions.While the Supreme Court held that the term “noted” means the person “has merely taken cognizance of the existence of an act or declaration, without exercising a judicious deliberation or rendering a decision on the matter,” the Sandiganbayan, citing a DPWH order, said the inspectorate team are “required to conduct the final inspection only after the completion of the project.” “The fact that the Certificate of Inspection for the first progress billing requires that the same be noted by the members of the Inspectorate Team suggests that their signatures are necessary for the processing of the payment for the first progress billings,” the anti-graft court said.The Sixth Division also said that the prosecution’s evidence showed that their actions were done based on the supposed accomplishment of the project, eventually releasing the funds to Sunwest “despite its failure to accomplish the works in compliance with the required specifications.”“Without any of the said accused&#x27;s acts, the subject funds would not have been released to Sunwest, Inc,” it read. The resolution was penned by Fernandez. Associate Justices Kevin Narce Vivero and Lord Villanueva concurred.

The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division had denied the bail petition of nine Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Mimaropa officials allegedly involved flood control irregularities in Oriental Mindoro.

The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division had denied the bail petition of nine Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Mimaropa officials allegedly involved flood control irregularities in Oriental Mindoro.

9 DPWH-Mimaropa officials in flood control mess denied bail

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9 DPWH-Mimaropa officials in flood control mess denied bail

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 10, 2026 05:07 PM PHT

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Updated March 10, 2026 06:03 PM PHT

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bail

flood control

DPWH Mimaropa

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