House subpoena issued to 5 ‘no-show’ contractors
The three House committees jointly conducting an inquiry into alleged anomalies in flood control projects have issued subpoenas to compel the appearance of five contractors who failed to attend the first hearing held on Tuesday.
Ordered to appear were Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya of Alpha & Omega General Construction; Mark Arevalo of Wawao Builders Corp.; Miguel Juntura of St. Timothy Construction Corp.; Eumir Villanueva of Topnotch Catalyst Builders; and Sally Santos of Syms Construction Trading.
The subpoenas were signed by the chairpersons of the three-panel “infracomm”—Representatives Terry Ridon (Bicol Saro), Romeo Momo (Surigao del Sur) and Joel Chua (Manila).
Discaya and the others must show up for the next hearing on Sept. 9 or face a contempt citation.
Their companies were among those flagged by President Marcos last month for cornering the bulk of the country’s flood control projects since the start of his administration, some of them later revealed to be either substandard or declared finished only on paper.
Nine companies founded or managed by Discaya and her husband, Pacifico, had bagged government contracts for more than 400 flood control projects worth P30 billion over the past three years.
On Monday, Arevalo appeared in a parallel Senate inquiry but repeatedly invoked his right against self-incrimination when asked whether his company had been behind “ghost projects” in Bulacan province.
Lookout bulletin
In a separate order, the infracomm chairpersons also requested the issuance of immigration lookout bulletin orders (Ilbos) for Santos and Herbert Matienzo, the recently resigned executive director of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB).
In a letter dated Sept. 4, the panel asked Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla to issue the Ilbos.
Remulla issued Ilbos to several public works officials and public works contractors earlier this week in connection with the investigations.
Santos is being sought by the House panels after it was revealed that her company had supposedly built a reinforced concrete river wall at Barangay Piel in Baliwag, Bulacan.
The project turned out to be nonexistent when President Marcos inspected the site last month, and despite the government payment of a total of nearly P50 million Santos’ company Syms.
License for sale?
Matienzo was accused by Zambales Rep. Jay Khonghun of engaging in the “sale” of PCAB licenses to unqualified contractors.
The PCAB, an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, is mandated to issue and revoke licenses of contractors.
“Such allegations, if substantiated, directly undermine the regulatory function of the PCAB and have a profound impact on the integrity of government infrastructure projects,” the panel chairs wrote in their request.
Matienzo resigned as PCAB executive director on Thursday, citing health reasons. But Khonghun said this should not stop the House from conducting a “lifestyle check’’ on Matienzo.
According to the lawmaker, Matienzo lived in an upscale village and owned multiple vehicles—which the former PCAB officer denied during during the infracomm’s first hearing on Tuesday.
