Villar sacks DPWH engineer in video of alleged extortion

Public Works and Highway Secretary Mark Villar. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar has ordered the dismissal of a district engineer who was caught in a video allegedly asking for “grease money” from a contractor of a road project in the province of Ifugao.

In a memorandum dated Wednesday, Villar ordered Lorna Ricardo to immediately vacate her post as district engineer of DPWH Abra District Engineering Office under the “Preventive Suspension” rule of the Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in Civil Service.

Ricardo was also asked to report to the DPWH Central Office pending the conduct of appropriate administrative investigation over her alleged wrongdoing.

The order came after the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) presented to the media a video showing Ricardo allegedly demanding P10 million from a contractor to ensure the awarding of the Lagawe-Caba-Ponghal Road Development Project.

READ: PACC names DPWH engineer in video of alleged extortion