The Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) has filed 36 criminal complaints against two Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials and four personnel and seven private individuals over alleged fraud involving ₱491.9 million in road right-of-way payments in General Santos City.
According to the OMB, the complaints include 18 counts of malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents under Articles 217 and 171 of the Revised Penal Code, and 18 counts of violating Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The Ombudsman identified the respondents as former Region 12 (Soccsksargen) regional director Subair Saro Diron, former assistant regional director Laureano Suan Jr., legal officer Ansare Mariga Busran,
Tomas Marquez Rodriguez, David Lucena Padlan, Paisal Amerol Padate.The seven private respondents were named as Wilma Olarte Mamburam, Nelson Ti, Evelyn Parilla Paloso, Rudy Hadji Ong, Marisa Tiongson Seguirre, William Perla Uy and Paul Michael Pabas Bagio.Citing ‘impunity of corruption’ as a nagging concern in the case, the anti-graft court highlighted the prevalence of government executives extorting huge amounts of money from legitimate businesses in the guise of being a normal process in most transactions.
In a separate administrative ruling, the OMB also ordered the dismissal of former DPWH Region 12 legal officer Busran from government service.
Based on the charge sheet filed against the 13 respondents, the complaints stemmed from the payments for 18 parcels of land allegedly affected by the construction of the Digos-Makar National Road in Barangay Lagao in General Santos City.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) submitted three reports on the alleged irregularities committed in 2018 and 2019, which led to the Ombudsman’s investigating to issue.
Witness Roberto Catapang Jr. executed a sworn affidavit where he admitted involvement in a group that allegedly colluded with government officials to obtain public funds by fabricating documents for purported land acquisitions.
The DPWH Region 12 technical working group reportedly approved the release of ₱491,931,120.20 to claimants whose supporting documents were later found to be falsified.
State investigators also flagged the use of a 2009 property appraisal rate of ₱3,500 per square meter to determine compensation for the land acquired by the government in the early 1990s. The valuation allegedly resulted in inflated right-of-way claims.
