NBI Asks the DOJ to Prosecute 21 People Over Four Davao City Flood Control Contracts Worth 364 Million Pesos

Who is named in the referral

The bureau filed its complaints with the Department of Justice on Tuesday, October 13, and Wednesday, October 14, and followed with additional documents on Wednesday afternoon. The referral letters recommend prosecution for falsification of documents under Articles 171 and 172 of the Revised Penal Code, which cover falsification by a public officer and by a private individual, and for violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019, the Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Twelve respondents come from the DPWH Davao City District Engineering Office: district engineers Richard Ragasa and Ferdinand Dallo, assistant district engineers Lilibeth Sarmiento and Emilio Sucaldito Jr., construction section officer in charge Roberto Mamaril, materials engineer Kim Anthony Duque, project engineers Lylan Froy Sison, Andre Villacorte and Alexander Omadley, project inspectors Aljon Barcoma and Arvin Rafols, and accounting unit head Kristine Apao.

From Genesis88 Construction Inc. the complaints name owner Glenn Escandor, authorized managing officer Saturnino Bentulan, project engineer Benjamin Zosa, materials engineer Faye Ramirez and foremen George Servano and Roy Bohol. From Agong Builders and Construction Supply Inc. they name owners Merlita Amplayo and Raymarc Kim Amplayo and project engineer Christian Rey Balingit. Unnamed John and Jane Does round out the list.

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon welcomed the filing. "Walang exceptions. Walang special treatment," he said. He had earlier ordered every regional director to cooperate with investigators and said the department had already turned over Davao City project records to the Ombudsman.

A photograph dated February 29, 2023

NBI Director Melvin Matibag previewed the complaints at a press conference on Monday, October 12. Of the 47 projects the bureau had flagged, he said, investigators had finished four, and those four were in bad shape. The problem he described was documentary: the same photographs submitted under different dates to support progress billings.

"Wala namang February 29 nu'ng 2023 because it was not a leap year," Matibag said, describing one picture that appeared in project files dated both February 29 and May 5 of that year. BusinessMirror reported that the four contracts are worth 364.2 million pesos in all.

On Tuesday Matibag said the findings showed "a potential violation" of the anti graft law and that the bureau would leave the next steps to prosecutors. "Sa DOJ naman, 'yan 'yung sa Genesis88. 'Yung apat na kaso na natapos na natin," he said, meaning the four finished cases went to the Justice Department.

The rest of the flagged list stays under review. Investigators have said one location appears to have been funded five times under different project titles at identical coordinates, and that about six projects are strong candidates for having never been built.

From 1.9 billion to 7 billion pesos

The inquiry became public in mid September when the bureau issued a subpoena dated September 17 to DPWH Region XI Director Juby Blancaver Cordon listing 47 flood control projects with red flags. One contractor appeared on all of them. Matibag said at the time that the bureau wanted to understand why Genesis88 alone had won roughly 1.9 billion pesos in flood control contracts inside one congressional district, and that six of the 47 already looked like ghost or substandard work.

Subpoenas went out on September 21 to Cordon, Genesis88, Gemma Construction and Agong Construction. Cordon appeared on September 24 and the regional office delivered 10 boxes of records the same day. Records from the Commission on Audit then pushed the count of flagged projects to 51 of 100 and the value under review to about 7 billion pesos for work between 2018 and 2024. GMA News Research separately found that Genesis88 had secured 7.03 billion pesos in government contracts in Davao City over that period, most of it flood control.

Escandor was presidential assistant for sports under former President Rodrigo Duterte from August 2016. His other firm, Escandor Development Corporation, is listed in Vice President Sara Duterte's 2022 statement of contributions and expenditures as having given 19.92 million pesos in advertisements to her campaign. Genesis88 also shares an address with Riftside Artworks Inc., a business that appears in Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte's 2024 asset statement. Matibag has called Escandor a longtime friend of the family.

Representative Duterte's objections

The projects sit in Davao City's first district, represented by Paolo Duterte. He has said he welcomes the investigation and wants any hearings open to the public, but he has pressed the bureau to produce proof of overpricing, ghost projects, substandard work, kickbacks or stolen funds rather than dwell on which firm kept winning. "If there are 'ghost' or substandard projects, investigate them all, whether in Davao or any other part of the country. There should be no selective investigation," he said in an earlier statement.

He also asked the NBI to look at projects in the Laguna district represented by Matibag's wife, Representative Ann Matibag, who replied that he should submit any documents or videos to the proper authorities and that her office would cooperate. Matibag told the congressman to bring his evidence to the Ombudsman.

On October 12 the congressman's lawyers wrote to the bureau to challenge its authority, citing Republic Act 10867, the NBI Reorganization and Modernization Act, which they read as limiting the bureau to crimes listed in the law unless the President or the justice secretary orders an inquiry. Matibag answered that a Justice Department order in force since 2016 designates the NBI to investigate cases of this kind.

A second referral, and what the DOJ does now

The flood control complaints were one of two packages the bureau moved on October 13. The other went to the Office of the Ombudsman and concerns the Vice President's asset declarations. Matibag said two properties in Barangay Catigan, Davao City were declared as agricultural land despite carrying large structures, including houses he described as mansions, swimming pools and a helipad. He also said a property she owns jointly with her brother was declared at 890,000 pesos when agents who visited it estimated a value of as much as 60 million pesos. Her lawyers have reserved objections to the bureau's jurisdiction and have raised a conflict of interest because Matibag testified for the House prosecution at her impeachment trial.

The DOJ complaints now go to preliminary investigation. Prosecutors will ask the 21 respondents for counter affidavits and then decide whether there is probable cause to file cases in court. None of the allegations has been tested before a judge, and none of the respondents has been reported to have answered the specific findings.

The bureau has said it will subpoena the Commission on Audit for documents and testimony on the rest of the flagged list. Whether the remaining 43 projects produce further referrals will decide whether the Davao inquiry stays a case about four contracts or grows toward the 7 billion peso figure the director keeps citing.