Just 7 of 15 tagged firms face Senate ‘flood’ probe
The Senate is due to subpoena eight contractors invited to its inquiry on flood control projects, including one tagged in so-called ghost projects in Bulacan province, after only seven of the 15 contractors that bagged the most projects showed up at the initial hearing of the blue ribbon committee on Tuesday.
This was the first hearing by the Senate’s investigative panel under the chairmanship of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who approved Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s motion to subpoena the absent contractors and force their appearance in the next hearing, which the committee has yet to schedule.
President Marcos on Aug. 11 held a rare press conference complete with a slide presentation showing that out of 2,409 accredited contractors, only 15 were able to secure P100 billion worth of flood control projects since 2022.
Of those 15 companies, 11 replied to the Senate that they would attend Tuesday’s hearing.
But only seven were duly represented in the hearing by their proprietors—with the exception of Centerways Construction and Development Inc., which was represented by lawyer Regidor Ponferrada.
Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero had earlier denied reports that he had helped secure major flood control projects for Centerways, the top contributor to his 2022 senatorial campaign. The company was one of the 15 contractors named by the President.
Firms under scrutiny
The others who appeared at the hearing were Alex Abelido, president of Legacy Construction Corp.; Allan Quirante, proprietor of QM Builders; Erni Baggao, proprietor of EGB Construction Corp.; Wilfredo Natividad, owner and general manager of Triple 8 Construction & Supply Inc.; Ryan Willie Uy, proprietor of Road Edge Trading & Development Services; and Kliff Samidan, treasurer of family-run MG Samidan Construction.
MG Samidan, the 12th top contractor in Mr. Marcos’ presentation, has also come under scrutiny because of its paid-up capital of P250,000—a mere fraction of the P5.02 billion it secured from its 58 contracts—and the location of some of its projects in areas known to be flood-prone.
Ghosts in Bulacan?
But on Tuesday, the blue ribbon panel tackled the so-called ghost projects under another company named by Mr. Marcos—Wawao Builders, which was absent in the hearing.
Addressing Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said he received reports about ghost projects in the city of Malolos and the municipalities of Calumpit and Hagonoy in Bulacan.
“Yes. This is the information that we have received,” Bonoan said, later adding that his agency has begun investigating the said projects.
“They will be coming up with their financial and physical report in one week’s time to my office,” he said.
Estrada then said, according to his information, that the contractor of the ghost projects is Wawao Builders. Without directly confirming Estrada’s claim, Bonoan said Wawao had 85 projects worth P5 billion in Bulacan.
Reasons for no-show
The other contractors missing at the hearing were Alpha & Omega General Contractor & Development Corp.; St. Timothy Construction Corp.; Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc.; Sunwest Inc.; and L.R. Tiqui Builders Inc.; as well as Hi-Tone Construction & Development Corp. and Royal Crown Monarch Construction & Supplies Corp., both of which, like Wawao, had not replied to the blue ribbon panel’s invitation.
Representatives of the other absent contractors cited various excuses as to why they could not attend the hearing—from prior commitments to health reasons to “grieving the death of a foster parent” in the case of Ma. Roma Angeline Rimando, owner and manager of St. Timothy Construction.
Mr. Marcos only last Friday inspected a dike-rehabilitation project in Calumpit and showed dismay at the sight of crumbling concrete in the P96.4-million project granted to St. Timothy Construction.
No coordination
In the course of the hearing, Marcoleta also took the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to task for its lack of coordination with the River Basin Control Office, an agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)—considering the flood problem also affecting localities around the country’s river basins.
Local officials as well have pointed out the lack of coordination between the local governments and the DPWH and other national agencies—a circumstance Bonoan acknowledged as “one of the challenges that we have to face.”
COA team
Meanwhile, the Commission on Audit (COA) said its Fraud Audit Office has received an initial batch of documents on flood control projects in Bulacan.
The COA issued a memorandum on Aug. 12 ordering a fraud audit of the Bulacan projects after the province received the biggest share of funding in Central Luzon since 2022—some P44 billion of the P98-billion fund for the region.
A video released to the media by the COA showed an audit team, accompanied by law enforcers, collecting the documents at the district engineering offices of the DPWH in Central Luzon.
“These vital records were immediately transported to the COA Central Office for in-depth investigation,” the commission said in a statement on Tuesday. —WITH A REPORT FROM FAITH ARGOSINO
