MANILA— The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division has denied a request for house arrest from former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official Juliet Calvo, who is facing a malversation case linked to an anomalous flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.

Calvo had sought permission to remain under house arrest after suffering a stroke on August 5, which reportedly left her struggling to move and speak.

Instead, the anti-graft court allowed Calvo to stay at the Philippine Heart Center for 30 days. She will then be transferred to the Quezon City Jail Female Dormitory.

During a hearing, Calvo’s lawyer Edwin Labro informed the court that she was due for discharge upon her doctor’s clearance.

“The purpose of the hearing has become moot and academic,” Labro said. “She is due for discharge already.”

Associate Justice Kevin Vivero subsequently ordered the cancellation of a scheduled hearing on Calvo’s condition after the matter was deemed “moot and academic.”

Labro had earlier told the court that Calvo suffered a stroke that resulted in total paralysis. He also said the defense had a motion seeking to have Calvo detained in a medical facility at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Female Dormitory in Camp Caringal “while she remains immobile.”

Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez, chair of the Sixth Division, said it would be up to the BJMP to determine whether Calvo could remain in a medical facility.

Calvo, the former Maintenance Division chief of the DPWH Region IV-B, is facing a non-bailable malversation of funds through falsification of public documents case along with eight other accused.

The case arose from a P289.4-million road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, which prosecutors said had serious structural deficiencies.

Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon discovered during an inspection that the project had only a three-meter steel sheet pile (SSP), despite a required depth of 12 meters.

However, a certificate of inspection dated March 18, 2024, and signed by Calvo stated that the SSPs complied with the 12-meter requirement. The certificate was among the documents required for the project’s first progress billing for contractor Sunwest.

Sunwest was co-founded by former Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co, who is also implicated in the case and has been identified by authorities as a fugitive for remaining outside the country.

Co, who previously chaired the House committee on appropriations, resigned as a party-list representative in September last year amid public outrage over the multibillion-peso flood control corruption scandal.