THE Office of the Ombudsman has filed 36 malversation and graft charges against seven personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 12 office for alleged involvement in a P491.93-million road right-of-way scam in General Santos City.
In a statement Sunday, the Ombudsman said it found prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction against former DPWH Region 12 regional director Subair Saro Diron, former assistant regional director Laureano Suan Jr., Tomas Marquez Rodriguez, David Lucena Padlan, Paisal Amerol Padate, and DPWH Region 12 Legal Officer Ansare Mariga Busran.
Six private individuals — Wilma Olarte Mamburan, Nelson Ti, Evelyn Parilla Paloso, Rudy Hadji Ong, Marisa Tiongson Seguirre, William Perla Uy and Paul Michael Pabas Bagio — are also facing charges.
The cases cover the alleged fraudulent payment of compensation for 18 parcels of land affected by the construction of the Digos-Makar National Road in Lagao, General Santos City.
The cases were built around reports submitted by National Bureau of Investigation in 2018 and 2019.
In a 2017 affidavit, Roberto S. Catapang Jr. admitted involvement in a syndicate, which, “in collusion with respondent public officers, collected money from the government purportedly as payments for the acquisitions, by fabricating and submitting fake documents.”
The DPWH technical working group allegedly approved the disbursement of P491,931,120.20 to claimants who were later found to have submitted falsified documents.
Investigators also uncovered the use of a 2009 property appraisal value of P3,500 per square meter to calculate compensation for land acquired by the government in the early 1990s, resulting in inflated right-of-way claims.
In a separate administrative ruling, the Ombudsman ordered Busran dismissed from government service.
