THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has launched its own probe of 15 contractors that secured anomaly-tainted infrastructure projects worth P12 billion from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

NBI Director Jaime Santiago said on Monday the inquiry is part of the bureau’s motu proprio investigation into irregularities in government contracts.

Santiago said the NBI will trace the projects’ money and paper trails and focus initially on DPWH regional directors in areas in Bulacan inspected by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Also on Monday, the NBI served a subpoena on Pacifico and Sarah Discaya at the Pasig office of St. Gerrard Construction, in connection with a separate investigation into a questionable flood control project.

The Discayas are among the contractors that have been implicated in irregular infrastructure and “ghost” projects.

Santiago already directed NBI Deputy Director Antonio Pagatpat to issue a memorandum ordering regional directors to begin preliminary inquiries on their own.

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He said the move was a preemptive measure to ensure that the NBI would be ready with findings in case the President or Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla asked for updates.

“We will start in the areas visited by the President, in several places in Bulacan and Baguio,” he said.

There is no timeframe for the inquiries. “We are simply ready in case we are asked. If suddenly the President or the Justice Secretary asks, we can immediately say that we already have data,” he said.

NBI starts own inquiry of DPWH contracts

Remulla earlier revealed that the NBI will form a dedicated group to support Department of Justice prosecutors in going over the flood control projects.