The move follows a petition filed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which also filed complaints with the Office of the Ombudsman against DPWH personnel and five construction companies.

The Secretary of Public Works, Vince Dizon, said that the funds of those under investigation have already been blocked in coordination with the central bank, while possible crimes of money laundering with public money are being investigated.

Among those implicated are former engineers and district directors, as well as representatives of construction corporations, accused of ghost projects and substandard work.

The DPWH and the Independent Commission on Infrastructure announced that the first test case will be a P3 billion project in Oriental Mindoro, where discrepancies in technical specifications were detected.

Recent inspections in La Union and Bulacan confirmed a pattern of similar deficiencies, said Dizon, who anticipated new charges of embezzlement, falsification of documents and violations of anti-corruption laws.

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