Authorities Arrest DPWH Engineer for Alleged Bribery of Newly-Elected Congressman
A DPWH engineer was arrested after allegedly attempting to bribe a newly elected young congressman.
During the weekend, a district engineer from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was arrested after allegedly attempting to bribe a young congressman with hundreds of millions of pesos.
Reports said the engineer wanted to stop an ongoing investigation into questionable flood control and other infrastructure projects in his district. To achieve this, he allegedly offered the lawmaker a share ranging from 5% to 10% of a P3.6 billion project from the 2025 budget.
It meant a bribe of around P180 million to P360 million just to put an end to the scrutiny of fake and substandard projects. But the offer did not end there.
The engineer reportedly sweetened the deal by promising an even bigger share of 15% to 20% from the upcoming 2026 projects. He even mentioned that several contractors were willing to pitch in money to win the congressman’s favor.
He described this practice as a so-called “standard operating procedure” in the DPWH.
During one of their meetings, the engineer allegedly brought P3.6 million in cash as an initial payment, with a promise to hand over an additional P15 million the next day. Thinking he had convinced the congressman, he walked straight into a trap.
Members of the Philippine National Police carried out an entrapment operation and arrested him on the spot. Authorities confiscated the bag containing the bribe money along with a list of DPWH projects.
The district engineer is now under police custody, while the provincial prosecutor’s office is preparing formal charges against him.
In a previous report, DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan hints ‘cleansing’ of organization amid flood projects issues
“My snappy salute to neophyte Cong Leandro Leviste, Batangas 1st District for the successful police entrapment operation against a corrupt DPWH District Engineer who tried to bribe him with up to P360M in ‘kickbacks’ from infra projects in his district,” Senator Panfilo Lacson said.
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