MANILA — An engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) linked to an alleged anomalous flood control project in Oriental Mindoro was arrested at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) reported Wednesday.

The arrested official, identified as Montrexis Tamayo, officer-in-charge of the DPWH Mimaropa (4B) Planning and Design Division, was apprehended shortly after arriving via an Emirates Airline flight on Tuesday afternoon.

“Upon arrival of the flight, arresting personnel approached the subject for verification using an identification card as Montrexis Tordecilla Tamayo. The arresting team informed him of the nature of the warrants, and the arrest was effected without incident,” the CIDG said.

Tamayo had been in Jordan when the arrest warrant was issued alongside former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co and at least 14 other officials of Sunwest Construction and the DPWH for graft and malversation cases filed by the Ombudsman.

Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II, CIDG director, said Tamayo was brought to the Sandiganbayan for the return of the warrant of arrest and commitment to the designated jail facility.

His arrest brings to nine the total number of individuals in government custody over the flood control-related charges. Female accused will be detained at Camp Karingal, Quezon City, while male accused are held at a Bureau of Jail Management and Penology facility in Payatas, Quezon City.

The arrest came a day after the CIDG turned over 95 boxes of case folders, investigation reports, and related documents on 28 alleged ghost flood control and related projects in seven regions — Ilocos, Central Luzon, Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Negros Islands, and the National Capital Region — to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) as part of its ongoing investigation under Executive Order 94.