2 DPWH-Mimaropa cashiers testify in graft cases vs Zaldy Co, others

MANILA, Philippines — Two cashiers from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) testified on Wednesday as witnesses in the graft cases against former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co and his co-accused. This pertains to the graft cases in connection with the anomalous flood control project in Oriental Mindoro. During the trial held by the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division, Pilar Amanda Gacutan and Carla Grace Dahonog were presented as witnesses by the state prosecutors. Gacutan and Dahonog underwent cross examinations by the defense counsels. The two witnesses were asked about their roles as cashiers in disbursing payments to Sunwest Corporation, a company linked to Co. The firm was previously identified by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as one of the top 15 contractors who bagged most flood control projects from July 2022 to May 2025. One after another, Gacutan and Dahonog said that the finance division prepares the List of Due and Demandable Accounts Payable – Advice to Debit Account (LDDAP-ADA). Dahonog said she is the designated maker who encodes the data to the Land Bank’s Electronic Modified Disbursement System), or the system used to submit issued ADAs online. She added that she also forwards the documents to Gacutan after encoding them to the system. Dahonog added that Gacutan makes an access to the EMDS for her signature on the ADA portion, but not for Gacutan’s approval. Associate Justice Maryann Corpuz-Mañalac, the presiding officer, asked Gacutan if they participate in the facilitation of the approval of the payment. Gacutan answered in the negative. She told the justice: “From the approval of the disbursement voucher, and the LDDAP itself, that’s the time when we forward the payment to the LandBank EMDS.” Gacutan also said that she is the only designated authorizer in that she forwards the LDDAP-ADA to the bank. She also said that no one coerced her to allow the crediting of the money based on the LDDAP-ADA. Gacutan noted that she waits for the approval of the regional director, or the assistant regional director, in the absence of the former, before she authorizes the forwarding of the LDDAP-ADA to the bank. When asked by the defense counsel if this means that the money will not be transferred to the claimant if she does not authorize it, she answered in the affirmative. The witness was then asked by the defense counsel if the approving authorities were Gerald Alday Pacanan, Gene Ryan Altea and Ruben Santos Jr. – to which she again answered in the affirmative. Pacanan was the regional director, while Altea and Santos were the assistant regional directors of DPWH Mimaropa. Pacanan, Altea and Santos are Co’s co-accused in the graft charges they are facing before the Sandiganbayan. The cases are in connection with a P289.9 million worth of a road dike in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro which was flagged as substandard and found to have structural deficiencies. /apl