THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has divided the 14 cases related to flood control fund anomalies into three batches.
Justice Assistant Secretary and spokesman Polo Martinez said the cases were grouped based on the nature of the allegations, the contractors involved, and the stage of the proceedings.
The first batch involved five malversation cases linked to Syms Construction Trading, all connected to flood control projects in Bulacan’s 1st district.
Martinez said two of the cases had been referred to the Office of the Ombudsman and filed before the Sandiganbayan.
The remaining three were expected to be resolved by the Office of the Prosecutor General within the month. The second batch consisted of six cases involving contractors Wawao Construction and Top Notch Catalyst Builders.
Martinez said all six cases are still under preliminary investigation at the DOJ, but were moving at different paces, depending on the status of submissions by respondents and the evaluation of evidence.
Martinez said some respondents had submitted counter-affidavits, others were for resolution, and some were still under investigation.
He confirmed that Sen. Joel Villanueva was a respondent in three malversation cases in the second batch. The senator has until Jan. 26 to submit his counter-affidavit.
The third batch covered three plunder cases, which Martinez described as the most high-profile.
The respondents in this batch included former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
Martinez said that in the same plunder case involving Estrada, former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel Bonoan was also a respondent.
Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon said the preliminary investigation in the plunder case against Estrada was expected to move forward within days, with prosecutors preparing to issue subpoenas and complete the process within the 60-day period prescribed under DOJ rules.
Fadullon acknowledged public frustration over the pace of the investigation, but said cases involving alleged large-scale corruption required careful, methodical work.
Unlike ordinary criminal cases, plunder cases involved multiple actors and interconnected transactions that were often compartmentalized, he said.
“These are cases where there are different components, and they are compartmentalized,” Fadullon said.
The information known to one group or individual might not be known to others.
Prosecutors need to establish how these components were interconnected to build a strong case.
Fadullon said merely naming public officials in complaints was insufficient grounds to immediately file charges.
Evidence had to be carefully examined to avoid cases collapsing during the trial.
Subpoenas in Estrada’s plunder case were expected to be issued within the month, Fadullon said.
The DOJ aims to complete the process within 60 days, meaning it could be finished by late February or March.
Fadullon said that while the preliminary investigation was ongoing, parallel probes were continuing.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was still gathering evidence, the Office of the Ombudsman was conducting its own inquiry through field investigators, and other agencies, including the DPWH, were pursuing related investigations.
Fadullon reiterated that the DOJ was proceeding cautiously and would not allow earlier public statements or expectations to dictate the pace of prosecutions.
“There were promises made, and people became expectant that by December someone would be jailed,” he said. “But the department cannot be bound by those statements and rush things simply because they were made.”
He said recent case filings before the Sandiganbayan against Co, and Revilla were the result of completed investigations, particularly those initially focused on alleged “ghost projects” in Bulacan’s 1st district, which he described as easier to verify and substantiate.
He said three more cases involving similar projects were expected to be completed by the end of the week, with additional cases against DPWH officials in Bulacan’s 1st district to follow.
Fadullon said six contractor-related cases, including those involving Wawao and Topnotch, were still under preliminary investigation at different stages, with results expected by mid-February.
Possible filings could be made either before regional trial courts or the Sandiganbayan, depending on the respondents involved.
Fadullon added that the DOJ was also preparing to hold preliminary investigations of two or three plunder cases involving Estrada and Revilla, with subpoenas expected to be issued within the week and hearings likely before the end of the month.
Other agencies had filed cases arising from the same transactions, he said.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) had filed two tax evasion cases — four counts each — against the Discaya couple.
Despite the number of cases already filed or under review, Fadullon said authorities were not limiting their probe to a fixed set of respondents or projects.
“This is broad. Many projects may be involved, and many names are being mentioned,” he said. “But we cannot rush. If mistakes were made before, we should not repeat them.”
Martinez clarified that no complaints or preliminary investigations were pending against former senator and now Makati City Mayor Nancy Binay and Sen. Francis Escudero in connection with the flood control probe.
He issued the clarification after questions were raised about whether Binay and Escudero, whose names had surfaced during past Senate hearings, were among those under investigation.
He said their mention in legislative inquiries had not translated into formal cases before the DOJ.
“If other evidence turns up which may implicate them, then of course we’ll look into it,” Martinez said. “But as it stands with respect to Nancy Binay, Chiz Escudero, none exist right now.”