Gov’t lawyers seek suspension of DPWH secretary, 4 officials

Government prosecutors said yesterday they will ask the Sandiganbayan for the immediate suspension of acting Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Florante Soriquez and four other DPWH officials.

The DPWH chief and the four officials face graft charges for their alleged involvement in the P2.7 billion megadike scam in 1996.

Chief special prosecutor Dennis Villa Ignacio said they will reiterate the suspension of Soriquez and DPWH officials Rey David, Ulysis Manago, Juan Gonzales and Gil Rivera before the Sandiganbayan’s fifth division, particularly since the DPWH chief was not able to secure a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court.

"Itutuloy na naming iyang pagpapasuspinde sa kanya (We will push through with asking for his suspension). It’s standard operating procedure anyway," he said.

Last July, prosecutor Cicero Jurado and deputy special prosecutor Robert Kallos said Soriquez’s suspension is "mandatory" under the law since the indictment has already been made.

The "prosecution maintains that the information is valid and invoking the mandate of the law and jurisprudence, suspension of the accused pending litigation is mandatory," Kallos and Jurado said in a statement.

They also urged the suspension of the four other DPWH officials involved in the faulty construction of a portion of the P2.7 billion anti-lahar megadike at the Pasig-Potrero River in Pampanga. A huge portion of the megadike collapsed in August 1996 after heavy lahar flow.

Soriquez, director of the Mt. Pinatubo Rehabilitation Project before he was appointed DPWH assistant secretary in March 2001, was investigated and later haled to court along with the four DPWH officials.

He also faces pending graft charges in the Office of the Ombudsman for his alleged approval of a P50-million reimbursement to AG Marfori Construction, who reportedly had "ghost" projects in Tarlac.

The contractor claimed it suffered a P140-million loss on these projects.

Takahira Engineering International Inc., a foreign consultant in the local road improvement project, recommended that no reimbursement be made. The consultant said nothing has been started yet, since right-of-way problems reportedly hampered AG Marfori’s road projects.