THE Department of Justice (DoJ) has served subpoenas to contractors and officials allegedly involved in five “ghost” flood control projects in Bulacan, marking the start of the preliminary investigation into the alleged anomalies.
DoJ Officer-in-Charge Fredderick A. Vida confirmed on Monday that the subpoenas for the initial five cases were personally served after the Office of the Ombudsman deputized the DoJ to assist in the probe.
“Subpoenas have been personally served for the initial five cases, wherein the DoJ has been deputized by the Office of the Ombudsman. The process will start — the respondents and the charges have already been identified,” Mr. Vida told a press briefing at the 2025 Justice Summit in Pasay City.
He said more cases are expected to follow as the Ombudsman continues to pursue the officials and contractors linked to the nonexistent projects.
“There will be more. I’m sure the Office of the Ombudsman is doing double-time — not only double-time, triple-time — to address this concern,” he said.
DoJ spokesperson Raphael Niccolo L. Martinez also said the subpoenas were served last week, with the first hearing for the preliminary investigation set for Nov. 10.
The cases involve allegations of graft, malversation of public funds, falsification of official documents, and perjury, in violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019) and relevant provisions of the Revised Penal Code.
According to the DoJ, the respondents include several former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials in Bulacan and a representative of a private construction firm allegedly involved in implementing the projects.
Panels of prosecutors have been assigned to determine whether there is probable cause to file the cases in court.
“My appeal to the public is this: at the end of the day, the Ombudsman, with the help of the DoJ as possibly deputized prosecutors, needs to prove these cases in court,” Mr. Vida said.
“We cannot take shortcuts. We cannot play God on this. We need to follow the rule of law,” he added.
The DoJ referred the investigation reports to the Ombudsman in early October after finding sufficient basis to proceed with prosecution.
The National Prosecution Service (NPS) initially looked into the five nonexistent flood control projects in Bulacan’s 1st District, which were funded but never implemented.
Prosecutor General Richard Anthony D. Fadullon earlier said that the probe centered on local DPWH district officials and contractors who had control over the projects’ planning and execution.
“The ones involved here are those who had control over these projects — district engineers, assistant district engineers, project managers, and the contractors who worked with them,” Mr. Fadullon said.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin C. Remulla earlier described the complaints as “open-shut cases,” citing disbursed funds with no actual project outputs.
He also confirmed that the same officials were also part of a Senate investigation where they made admissions into the alleged anomalies that have since been included in the cases.
After reviewing the reports, the Ombudsman returned the cases to the DoJ and deputized its prosecutors to conduct a preliminary investigation and prepare the filing of cases in court.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court last week directed the Office of the Court Administrator to monitor corruption cases related to infrastructure projects once filed before the regional trial courts.
The high court said it would designate special courts to handle such cases exclusively, as part of ongoing judicial reforms aimed at improving transparency and case resolution speed. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking