The government shelled out roughly P97 million for 51 condominium units that inspectors later discovered were no longer physically there — a detail the Department of Migrant Workers now considers central to its fight against a recent Ombudsman decision. According to ABS-CBN News, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac raised the missing structures as a core reason the department intends to contest the dismissal of its complaints tied to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s P1.4-billion property purchase.
Speaking at a Friday press briefing, Cacdac confirmed that the department obtained the Ombudsman’s June 19, 2026 resolution on July 7. That ruling threw out the DMW’s accusations of graft, malversation, and plunder, but recommended prosecuting former OWWA administrator Arnell Ignacio for usurpation of official functions under Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code.
Investigators concluded that Ignacio had allegedly executed the contract to sell, the deed of absolute sale, the addendum, and the release of public money without the go-ahead of the OWWA Board of Trustees.
Cacdac framed the demolished units as a direct financial injury to the state. “So the point here is the government paid, for condominium units that no longer exist. That’s the damage. That’s the prejudicial part to the government,” he said. He explained that titles for the 51 units were transferred to the Republic of the Philippines through OWWA within roughly a month of the sale’s completion, even though the buildings themselves were already gone by the time officials inspected the site — property that was meant to serve as a halfway house for OFWs.
A separate concern the department plans to press involves the timeline of payment. Cacdac said two checks worth a combined P1.4 billion went out on August 30, 2024, yet the deed of absolute sale carried a signing date of September 12, 2024. The seller, he noted, appears to have acknowledged receiving the money on September 11 — the day before that document was signed.
“There were checks issued to the seller about 12 [days] or almost 2 weeks before the signing of the absolute deed of sale. In-issue-han na siya ng cheque at may resibo pa nga na natanggap niya iyong bayad a day before the signing of the deed of sale,” Cacdac said.
Because the transaction allegedly bypassed the board and delivered payment ahead of the signed deed, the department argues the arrangement handed the seller an undue advantage. Cacdac said the DMW will file a motion for reconsideration on the grounds that the Ombudsman never weighed the specific evidence the department had turned over.
“Our complaint for violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, malversation of public funds, and plunder were dismissed,” Cacdac said. “But what we plan to do is to file a motion for reconsideration because in our view, the resolution did not pass upon details that we submitted to the Honorable Office of the Ombudsman.”
The secretary also flagged a looming audit risk, cautioning that the Commission on Audit could hand OWWA an adverse finding once examiners begin questioning why 51 condominium titles sit under the government’s name for structures that cannot be located.
