Marcos: 15 firms corner big flood control works
As the investigation into nearly 10,000 flood control projects in the past three years gets underway, President Marcos on Monday expressed surprise upon learning that only a small number among the more than 2,000 contracting entities were handling the big-ticket projects of the government.
During a rare press conference in Malacañang, the President also raised concerns over a mismatch between the country’s most flood-prone provinces and those that received the highest number of flood control projects.
He was likewise alarmed that some 64 percent of all flood control projects under his administration lacked clear project descriptions or were in different locations but had the exact contract cost.
The President said that P100 billion, or 18 percent of the entire P545-billion budget for flood mitigation projects undertaken by his administration from July 2022 to May 2025, was awarded to only 15 out of 2,409 accredited contractors.
Based on the list provided by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the President noted that five have projects in “almost all regions nationwide.”
These are Legacy Construction Corp.; Alpha & Omega General Contractor & Development Corp.; St. Timothy Construction Corp.; EGB Construction Corp.; and Road Edge Trading & Development Services.
“Five of these contractors had projects in almost the entire country. So these are the ones that immediately popped out [among the list] and, for me, should be the ones whose projects should be looked into,” he said, calling the initial finding “disturbing.”
Political names
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto pointed out through his Facebook page that the Top 2 and 3 on the list—Alpha & Omega and St. Timothy Construction—were owned by the Discayas, the family of his rival in the 2025 elections.
“Ngayon, unti-unti nang nalalaman ng taumbayan ang buong katotohanan (Now, the public is gradually learning the whole truth),” the Pasig mayor said in reaction to the President’s announcement. “As the President told them during the Sona (State of the nation address last July 28), ‘Mahiya naman kayo (Have some shame)!’”
Based on the contracts available publicly on the DPWH’s website, Alpha & Omega is owned by Cezarah Rowena Discaya, who used the name Sarah Discaya when she ran and lost against Sotto in the 2025 elections.
Meanwhile, St. Timothy Construction is registered under Ma. Roma Angeline Rimando, a relative of Discaya.
Some of the firms that bagged many flood control projects are connected to political names.
There were two other contractors under the Discaya family, but are not among the top 15 list: St. Matthew Gen. Contractor & Development Corp., and St. Gerrard Construction Gen. Contractor and Development Corp.
Meanwhile, Sunwest Inc., a business conglomerate based in Albay cofounded in 1997 by Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, listed Aderma Angelie Alcazar as its president.
Premature
Mr. Marcos did not make any accusations about the involvement of the private contractors mentioned in his presentation, but he said they “stood out very much.”
“We are not accusing anyone of anything yet. However, it gives us an idea of what and how this has been conducted,” he added.
Pressed to identify those involved in corrupt schemes with the flood control projects that he earlier said have been identified, President Marcos said it was still “premature” for him to name personalities.
He emphasized that he wanted to be “fair to everyone” while the investigation takes its course.
“Let’s be circumspect about pointing fingers and shouting at people, let’s look at these allegations thoroughly,” he said.
The President needed to hear first “from everyone” before making the next course of action.
“I know that once this [list] comes out, there will be a lot of complaints, sometimes justified, sometimes not. It may be just a political conflict or an issue of a contractor losing a project,” he said.
“But we will still go through every single one. And we still have to see what really is credible and what needs to be acted upon,” the President added.
Mismatch
At the same media briefing, Mr. Marcos said that the top 10 provinces with the highest number of flood control projects, according to the DPWH, were: Bulacan (668 projects); Cebu (414); Isabela (341); Pangasinan (313); Pampanga (292); Albay (273); Leyte (262); Tarlac (258); Camarines Sur (252); and Ilocos Norte (224).
Meanwhile, the most flood-prone areas based on the National Adaptation Plan of the Philippines 2023-2025 were: Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Oriental Mindoro and Ilocos Norte.
“I think you will notice they don’t necessarily match,” the President noted.
“Now, I’m sure there are explanations for that… But you would intuitively say that the areas, provinces, regions, whatever pinaka-flood prone, ‘yun dapat pinakamaraming project (Whatever is most flood-prone, that should receive the most projects),” he said.
Significant finding
Expounding on the flood control projects that lacked clear project descriptions or were located in different locations but bore the exact contract cost, Mr. Marcos said the total cost of all flood control projects from when he assumed office in July 2022 until today stands at P545 billion.
However, more than P350 billion, or 6,021 projects, “do not specify the exact type of flood control that is being built.”
He added that many of these projects are in different locations but have exactly the same contract cost.
“I think anybody who works in either the private sector or the public sector, ‘pag sinabi may limampung project, pare-pareho, P150 million lahat. Pare-pareho lahat. Imposible ’yan (when you say there are 50 projects, all the same, P150 million. That’s impossible),” he said.
“It is impossible for one barangay, even if they are the next barangay, to have the exact same project for the exact same amount with the exact same contractor. Imposible ’yan. And that is why that is a significant finding already that we have made,” the President continued.
But the President noted these cannot be classified yet as “ghost projects” as the investigation is still ongoing.
Garbage problem
When it comes to regions, Mr. Marcos said Metro Manila (National Capital Region or NCR) topped the list with 1,058 projects amounting to P52.57 billion.
It was followed by Central Luzon (Region 3) with 1,617 projects worth P98.01 billion and Bicol (Region 5) with 866 projects worth P49.61 billion.
“The NCR makes sense because the flood problem is really there, but we will look into that,” he said.
He revealed that of the 170 pumping station projects of the DPWH, 157 of those are in Metro Manila, costing P11.67 billion.
Metro Manila and its nearby provinces were submerged in floodwaters during the onslaught of the southwest monsoon and three consecutive typhoons that hit the country last July.
“This really, more than anything, manifests how the pumping stations have become ineffective because of the garbage collection problem,” he lamented. —WITH A REPORT FROM ZACARIAN SARAO
