NBI: 2 DPWH executives, private contractor to shed light on World Bank mess

MANILA, Philippines - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday said that two officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and one private contractor are expected to appear at the NBI headquarters in Manila on Friday to shed light on the bid rigging mess exposed by the World Bank.

Lawyer Ricardo Diaz, spokesperson of the NBI and chief of the NBI Anti-Terrorism Division (ATD), identified the three as Emerson Benitez, Project Manager III and head of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC)-Technical Working Group of the DPWH; lawyer Joel Jacob, officer-in-charge of the legal service and member of the BAC of the DPWH; and private contractor Florencio Aricheta of the Philippine Contractors Association (PCA) and National Constructors Association of the Philippines (NACAP) representative.

Aricheta is also said to be part of the DPWH-BAC, according to Diaz.

He stressed that the NBI investigation is for purposes of criminal prosecution.

Diaz lamented that some of those subpoenaed gave wrong or fictitious addresses, including Aricheta, but the NBI managed to locate his real address.

Diaz said those subpoenaed have different interview schedules since they cannot be accommodated all at the same time, especially since they have voluminous documents that need to be looked into.

“We are going to investigate them intelligently. That is why, as of now, we are reviewing how to investigate biddings, especially all the styles in the rigging of biddings,” said Diaz. “The three were subpoenaed to come on Friday.”

Diaz also clarified the NBI will not be conducting a preliminary investigation, but a fact-finding investigation.

He said a preliminary investigation is conducted by a prosecutor, while the NBI conducts a fact-finding investigation.

“They are being invited as resource persons. First and foremost they are members of the bids and awards committee,” said Diaz.

He added that several contractors were also subpoenaed but some of them were not in their indicated addresses.

 “We are verifying why they (contractors) gave wrong addresses,” he said, citing one contractor who has not been staying in his listed address for six years now.

“However, this investigation has not been that long ago. It means that they intentionally provided wrong addresses to the investigators of the World Bank,” said Diaz.