P491 million ROW scam: Ombudsman sues 6 DPWH execs

MANILA, Philippines — Former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)’s Region 12 along with several private citizens are facing criminal cases over an alleged right of way scam in General Santos City.

The Office of the Ombudsman filed 18 counts of malversation through falsification of public documents and another 18 counts of graft against six former DPWH Region 12 officials and seven private individuals over the payment of more than P491 million to recipients who filed fake documents to obtain right of way for a road project.

Among the officials charged by the ombudsman were former DPWH Region 12 regional director Subair Saro Diron and former assistant regional director Laureano Suan Jr.

The cases stemmed from three reports submitted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in 2018 and 2019, which involved the payment of right of way for 18 parcels of land that were supposedly affected by the construction of the Digos-Makar National Road in Lagao, General Santos City, according to the ombudsman.

The complainant, who admitted to be part of the scheme, revealed the 13 personalities charged with malversation and graft “collected money from the government purportedly as payments for the acquisitions, by fabricating and submitting fake documents.”

The scheme involved “the alleged unlawful use of a 2009 appraisal value of P3,500 per square meter to determine compensation for properties taken by the government in the early 1990s, resulting in inflated right-of-way claims,” the ombudsman noted.

The surge in right-of-way claims resulted in the “disbursement of P491,931,120.20 to claimants that were later found out to have presented falsified documents.”

Aside from the criminal cases, the ombudsman also dismissed from the service former DPWH Region 12 legal officer Ansare Mariga Busran.