Ombudsman: ₱491.9M right-of-way scam charges filed

THE Office of the Ombudsman has brought criminal charges against six officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) before the Sandiganbayan in connection with an alleged ₱491.93‑million “Road Right of Way Scam” in General Santos City.

Named in the cases are former DPWH Region XII Regional Director Subair Saro Diron, former Assistant Regional Director Laureano B. Suan Jr., and four other personnel, alongside seven private individuals accused of taking part in the scheme. The Ombudsman stated it found prima facie evidence indicating a reasonable certainty of conviction against all respondents.

Eighteen separate informations were filed for malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents under the Revised Penal Code, plus another 18 for violations of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti‑Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The charges grew out of investigation reports submitted by the National Bureau of Investigation in 2018 and 2019, which centered on payments made for 18 parcels of land supposedly affected by the Digos‑Makar National Road project in Lagao, General Santos City. According to state witness Roberto S. Catapang Jr., the syndicate colluded with public officers to fabricate documents and fraudulently claim right‑of‑way compensation from the government.

Investigators established that the DPWH Region XII technical working group approved the release of ₱491,931,120.20 to claimants who allegedly submitted falsified records. Authorities also uncovered evidence of inflated compensation amounts, noting that the scheme improperly applied 2009 appraisal rates of ₱3,500 per square meter to properties actually taken by the government back in the 1990s — a method that artificially boosted the total payout. The Ombudsman emphasized that the legal process is now underway and that respondents are presumed innocent until proven otherwise by the anti‑graft court.