The National Bureau of Investigation has filed criminal complaints against 21 people over flood control projects in Davao, and the respondents list reads like the project's own paper trail: the district engineers, their assistants, the materials engineer, the project inspectors and the head of the accounting unit.
According to the Daily Tribune (Jeffrey G. Damicog), the NBI filed the complaints before the Department of Justice on Oct. 13 and 14, recommending charges of falsification of documents under the Revised Penal Code and violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. DOJ prosecutors will now conduct a preliminary investigation to decide whether there are grounds to file cases in court.
Who is named
Twelve respondents come from the DPWH Davao District Engineering Office, per the Tribune: 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.
Six respondents are from Genesis88 Construction Inc.: owner Glenn Escandor, and personnel Saturnino Bentulan, Benjamin Zosa, Faye Ramirez, George Servano and Roy Bohol. Three are from Agong Builders and Construction Supply Inc.: owners Merlita Amplayo and Raymarc Kim Amplayo, and project engineer Christian Rey Balingit.
Note the spread. A falsification complaint that reaches the people who inspect the work, test the materials, certify the accounts and sign for the district suggests the NBI is alleging something more than one bad signature. That is the NBI's theory as reported, not a finding; no court has ruled on it, and the respondents' side was not included in the Tribune report.
The department's response
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon welcomed the complaints and said those implicated would get no preferential treatment: "Walang exceptions. Walang special treatment," the Tribune quoted him as saying.
It is a fine sentiment. It is also a promise about the future from the head of a department whose own district office is now a respondent.
What we still don't know
The Tribune report does not give contract amounts, the names or locations of the specific projects, or how many projects are involved. It also does not say whether DPWH Regional Director Juby Cordon, whom the NBI subpoenaed on Sept. 18 and who submitted 10 boxes of records on Sept. 24, is among the respondents. Readers deserve those numbers; at the time of writing they are not in the published account.
Context
The Davao complaints follow the NBI's subpoena of Cordon last month and sit within the wider flood control corruption cases that have run through the Ombudsman, the Sandiganbayan and the Senate since 2025. A preliminary investigation is the first of several stages; it can end in dismissal, and the respondents are presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
Sources
- Daily Tribune, "NBI files raps vs 21 over Davao flood control projects," Jeffrey G. Damicog, Oct. 14, 2026 — https://tribune.net.ph/2026/10/14/nbi-files-raps-vs-21-over-davao-flood-control-projects