Flood probe ‘lookout order’ list gets longer
Department of Justice (DOJ) facade. PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued an immigration lookout bulletin order (Ilbo) against a total of 43 contractors and government officials—up from only 35 when first announced on Wednesday—who are being linked to anomalous flood control projects.
The DOJ issued the Ilbo upon receiving separate requests from the Senate blue ribbon committee and newly appointed Secretary Vince Dizon of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Ilbos are different from hold departure orders, as these merely allow the Bureau of Immigration to monitor the subject’s travel, whereas the latter bar subjects from leaving the country and require an issuance by a court.
The complete list, released on Thursday, consists of 16 DPWH officials and 27 individuals connected with the contractors involved in the questionable projects.
The DPWH officials on the lookout list are led by those from the 1st District Engineering Office in Bulacan, where the first cases of “ghost” flood control projects were discovered.
They are former district engineer Henry Alcantra and assistant district engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez, OIC Jayson Jauco and chief of planning and design Norberto Santos.
Public Works Undersecretaries Maria Catalina Cabral and Ramon Arriola III were also issued Ilbos.
READ: Flood control scam: 43 DPWH execs, contractors on BI’s travel watch
Perpetual ban
The private individuals are led by spouses Pacifico “Curlee” and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya, owners of Alpha and Omega General Contractor & Development Corp., who triggered the public’s interest in dubious flood control projects when they were interviewed on social media, where they showcased their extravagant wealth and claimed they began getting rich when they started dealing with the DPWH.
Another notable contractor on the list is Mark Allan Villamor Arevalo, general manager of Wawao Builders, the listed contractor of the alleged ghost project in Bulacan.
Dizon on Thursday said that he would issue a perpetual ban on Wawao Builders and its affiliates from dealing with the DPWH.
He made the statement after visiting the Bulacan project, which was certified as completed in June 2024 by the DPWH, but where actual work started only three weeks ago, when investigations on the flood control program started.
