FORMER Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) assistant engineer Brice Hernandez and six other former DPWH officials pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to a graft charge over the alleged P77-million ghost flood control project in Balagtas, Bulacan.
Already in detention over a separate P92.8-million flood control case in Pandi, Bulacan, Hernandez and his six co-accused entered their pleas before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division.
Jaypee Mendoza, Arjay Domasig, Niño Lawrence Morales, Juanito Mendoza, Floralyn Simbulan and Christina Mae Pineda joined Hernandez in denying the charge. They are accused of involvement in a P77.2-million riverbank protection project along the Balagtas River that was declared completed in May 2025 despite an inspection finding no structure at the site, according to the Ombudsman.
Former Ako Bicol Party-list representative Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co was also impleaded in the case, along with his staff members John Paul Estrada and Mark Tecsay. None of the three was arraigned because they remain at large.
A separate issue emerged during Wednesday’s proceedings when defense lawyers questioned the information’s notation that “no bail is recommended,” pointing out that graft is a bailable offense. Prosecutors then asked the court to amend the information and set bail at P90,000 for each accused.
Hernandez and the two Mendozas have been dismissed from service, while Domasig, Morales, Simbulan and Pineda are under floating status.
