Dizon files bid-rigging raps vs contractors, DPWH officials
Secretary Vince Dizon of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Thursday filed two complaints of bid rigging against two contractors and his agency’s personnel over “ghost” and “substandard” flood control projects in La Union and Davao Occidental.
The complaints he filed before the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) were against St. Timothy Construction Corp. of contractor-couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya, Silverwolves Construction Corp., and DPWH officials and employees from the two provinces.
The DPWH noted that the cases are for the PCC’s preliminary inquiry.
“The President said that those responsible for [the project anomalies] must be held accountable and jailed and the stolen public funds must be recovered. As long as we have evidence, we will continue to recommend filing of charges,” Dizon said in Filipino.
He added that penalties as high as about P3.13 billion worth of penalty may be imposed on those proven to have violated Chapter III , Section 14 of the Philippine Competition Act, which prohibits anticompetitive agreements such as bid rigging.
Fully paid
Together with price fixing and market allocation (where competitors agree to divide the market by volume, territory, type of goods or customers), bid rigging is prohibited from the outset without further inquiry into their effects.
The DPWH recently signed a memorandum of agreement with PCC to fast-track the referral of fines against contractors involved in bid rigging and other violations under the Philippine Competition Act.
On Oct. 23, the DPWH also filed complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman against the same contractors and several DPWH officials for malversation of public funds through the falsification of public documents on separate flood control projects in the two provinces.
The filing of separate cases came after Dizon inspected what he described as “substandard” and “ghost” flood mitigation structures in La Union and Davao Occidental.
On Sept. 16, Dizon visited two flood control projects along the Bauang River Basin in La Union worth P89.7 million each, both awarded to Silverwolves Construction.
He said he also found out that the projects were already fully paid by the DPWH.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier tagged Benguet lone district Rep. Eric Yap as the “person of interest” behind Silverwolves Construction.
Remulla said that while Yap divested from it years ago, “there’s still reason to suspect that he’s still the beneficial owner of the company. So there’s clear conflict of interest punishable under Republic Act 3019,” the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Yap had denied any involvement in alleged kickbacks in government infrastructure projects.
But Remulla noted that Yap had served as House appropriations chair from 2020 to 2022.
‘Conflict of interest’
It was in the same period when the Discayas were awarded the La Union flood control project.
Remulla said the connection became clear when the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) found that the Discayas transmitted some P70 million to the bank account of Yap’s brother Edvic, also a lawmaker.
“So we saw that there is really a pattern—they were clearly involved because the money was transmitted from the Discayas,” Remulla noted, adding that this constituted a “clear case of conflict of interest” against the Yaps punishable under RA 3019.
Dizon also personally assessed what he described as a “ghost” flood-control work in Davao Occidental worth P96.5 million.
He said this project was awarded to St. Timothy Construction which was already fully paid.
