MANILA, Philippines — A former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official facing corruption charges voluntarily surrendered to Philippine authorities in Israel after learning of an arrest warrant while on a Catholic pilgrimage in Egypt, his lawyer told the Sandiganbayan on Thursday.
Lawyer Von Añonuevo, counsel for former DPWH Region IV-B Planning and Design Division Chief Montrexis Tordecilla Tamayo, said his client traveled to the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv because it was the nearest diplomatic post where he could surrender.
“He was on a Roman Catholic pilgrimage,” Añonuevo told reporters after the hearing.
Tamayo has been detained at the New Quezon City Jail since returning to the Philippines. He is among the co-accused of former congressman Zaldy Co in a malversation and falsification case involving a P289.4-million public works project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro that prosecutors said had serious structural deficiencies.
During Thursday’s hearing, Añonuevo said the defense initially planned to present three witnesses, including a representative from the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv, to establish that Tamayo voluntarily surrendered on Nov. 24, 2025, the same day the Sandiganbayan issued the arrest warrant.
However, Sandiganbayan Sixth Division Chair Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez asked the prosecution and defense whether they were willing to stipulate that Tamayo voluntarily surrendered, noting that such an agreement would eliminate the need to bring an embassy representative from Israel to testify.
State prosecutors said they were willing to stipulate to the fact, with the formal agreement expected to be presented at the next hearing on July 30.
Under the Revised Penal Code, voluntary surrender may be considered a mitigating circumstance that could reduce a convicted offender’s penalty.