MANILA — A prosecution witness from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) testified that no structure was found at the site of the alleged P92.8-million flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan, which is linked to the malversation case against former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and six others.

DPWH Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office officer-in-charge Kenneth Fernando made the statement during the second day of the bail hearing before the Sandiganbayan.

“My team in Bulacan 1st DEO, based on the coordinates in the transparency portal, went to the project site to confirm [the status of the project]. It (site visit) was dated March 26. There are no seen structures,” Fernando said during questioning by Sandiganbayan Third Division Associate Justice Ronald Moreno.

“Bushes and lushes are already in the site, Your Honor,” Fernando added.

He said the site was verified using official records from the district engineering office, including original plans and project documents.

“I checked [this site based] on the available records in the Bulacan 1st DEO using the original plan, including the bidding and implementation [records] of the project,” he said.

“[The] second [document I checked] is the project detail matrix. This document is the one used by the district submitted to the regional office and central office,” Fernando added.

Fernando also told the court that project sites cannot be changed after a contract has been awarded.

Asked by Moreno if relocation of a project site is allowed, Fernando replied, “it is not allowed, Your Honor.”

During the hearing, the witness further stated that he did not find Revilla’s signature in any of the documents related to the project held by the Bulacan 1st DEO.

Following the proceedings, Revilla’s lawyer Reody Anthony Balisi argued that the prosecution failed to link the former senator to the alleged irregularity.

“As far as senator Revilla is concerned, we have established thus far….from the documents presented and from the testimonies presented today, that he has no participation whatsoever and no involvement in this questioned project. Whether [the project was] ghost or not, he has no participation,” Balisi said.

“You have seen the admission of witnesses and even subject of stipulation that there is nothing in any of the documentary evidence that were presented so far, bulk of the documents, everything there, Senator Revilla has no signature, no name, no involvement,” Balisi added.

The case stems from charges filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in January, accusing Revilla, former DPWH Bulacan Assistant District Engineer Brice Hernandez, and five others of malversation through falsification of documents and graft over the alleged ghost project.

Revilla, who is currently detained at the New Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory in Payatas, Quezon City, has repeatedly denied any involvement in the project.