Cases Involving Engineers
Corrupt Engineers On August 8, 1981, the Tanodbayan (now Ombudsman) filed with the Sandiganbayan one hundred ten (110) Informations for violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, as amended. Ten (10) officials of the Ministry of Public Highways (MPH), now Department of Public Works and Highways, were charged; thirty-eight (38) officials and eight (8) private contractors were indicted. Among these officials were Baldebrin and Lacea. Baldebrin was the administrative officer of the Negros Oriental Highway Engineering District (NOHED), while Lacea, a civil engineer, was the field supervisor.
That on or about November 10, 1977 up to and including November 25, 1977, in the Cities of Cebu, Dumaguete and the Province of Negros Oriental, they all taking advantage of their official positions, with the indispensable cooperation and/or direct participation of CLODUALDO C. GOMILLA, Proprietor of C.G. Gomilla Sand and Gravel, Private Contractor, with evident bad faith, manifest partiality and/or gross inexcusable negligence did there and then willfully, knowingly and unlawfully caused undue injury to the Republic of the Philippines in the amount of THIRTY SEVEN THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED PESOS (P37,800.00), Philippine Currency, by falsifying Negros Oriental Highway Engineering District General Voucher No. .. dated November 25, 1977 in the amount of P37,800.00 and its supporting documents, such as the Request for Obligation of Allotment (ROA), Request for Supplies and Equipment (RSE), Purchase Order (PO), Report of Inspection (ROI), Daily Tally Sheets (DTS) and Delivery Receipts (DR), simulating them to appear regular as payment for 1050 cubic meters of Item 200 and charging this General Voucher 1413 to Letter of Advice of Allotment No. 107-703-039-77, when in truth and in fact as all the accused knew there were no actual deliveries and receipts of the said Item 200, the foregoing documents were simulated, falsified and incorrect and that the LAA No. 107-703-039-77 is without budgetary basis and not covered by any Sub-Advice of Allotment from the Ministry of Public Highways, Manila, and further by manipulating the books of accounts of the MPH, Region VII, all for the purpose of covering their criminal act, and finally, upon receipt of the said amount of THIRTY SEVEN THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED PESOS (P37,800.00), Philippine Currency, they misappropriated, converted and misapplied the same for their personal gain and profit. (BALDEBRIN vs. SANDIGANBAYAN: G.R. Nos. 144950-71, March 22, 2007, SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ, J) Dishonest and Negligent Engineers Dishonesty and gross neglect of duty with respect to the irregularities attended the construction of the barangay high school building in Inaclagan, Gumaca, Quezon. The facts are as follows: Florentino R. Brucal and Cesar A. Cruz were members of the Second Engineering District Prequalification, Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC) of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Brucal was the project engineer while Cruz was the chief of the construction section of the Inaclagan BarangayHigh School Project. The OMB Task Force on Public Works and Highways following an investigation on the complaint of … They were charged with Dishonesty, Falsification of Official Documents, Grave Misconduct, Violation of Office Rules and Regulations, and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service for irregularities in connection with the bidding, award, and implementation of contracts in the province of Quezon. In its investigation, the OMB Task Force found that on February 5, 1990, a construction project worth P281,475.30 for a three-classroom building at the Inaclagan Barangay High School, Gumaca, Quezon, was awarded by the PBAC to contractor RAM Builders. However, during its construction, RAM Builders allegedly committed substantial deviations from the approved plans and specifications of the DPWH. An oversight committee reported that RAM Builders used commercial, substandard-size steel bars instead of standard-size steel bars… The OMB Task Force concluded after its investigation that: “[T]here were major defects in the construction of the school building as a direct result of the contractor’s improper methods and its use of substandard materials (reinforcement steel bars and lumber). All these, if left unchecked, would have resulted in the construction of a school building which was far weaker in strength than that envisioned by the planners. Considering the degree of deviation from the approved plans and specifications, it could rightfully be concluded that the same had been deliberate. It must be added that there could be no truth to the claim that the contractor’s employee had not afforded proper attention to the materials delivered for the project because RAM Builders is also a dealer/supplier of construction materials. From available records, RAM Builders has been a regular supplier of construction materials for projects implemented by the DPWH district office in Lucena City. In all probability, the undersize reinforcement steel bars and poor-quality lumber that were used in the Inaclagan school building project had been supplied by RAM builders itself; such that even before the delivery of said articles to the job site, the contractor (which was at the same time the supplier) already knew that they were not in accordance with the approved plans and specifications. Moreover, it must be presumed that the contractor’s employees including its project engineer are knowledgeable about construction materials and methods used in the implementation of public works projects. This being the case, there could not have been an honest mistake in regard to the improper methods utilized and the substandard quality of the basic materials used. Under the circumstances, the contractor should have been compelled to undo what he had unlawfully done by ordering the demolition of what had been constructed so far to ensure strict compliance with the approved plans and specification”(BRUCAL vs. DESIERTO, G.R. No. 152188. July 8, 2005,QUISUMBING, J.) |
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