Marcos slams ‘useless’ Kennon Road projects
President Marcos on Sunday expressed his frustration yet again as he witnessed for himself another pair of “useless” infrastructure projects in Tuba town in Benguet province that should have been overseen by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
A visibly irate Mr. Marcos vowed to address the controversies surrounding the botched, if not nonexistent, projects implemented by the DPWH before he steps down in three years.
He added that he is restoring a policy that gives local governments the power to accept or reject poorly constructed public works projects, so they would have a greater role in curbing systemic corruption in government infrastructure programs.
The President’s travels across the country, which uncovered public works anomalies in the past weeks, had led him to questionable projects that failed to protect century-old Kennon Road, which links the lowland to Baguio City, during days of deluge in the last weeks of July.
Together with Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Tuba Mayor Clarita Sal-ongan and DPWH officials, Mr. Marcos inspected on Sunday the rock shed project at Purok Millsite Sitio Camp 6 in Barangay Camp 4, on Kennon Road.
In an angry outburst, President Marcos described the project as “sloppily made” after parts of its foothold caved in due to soil scouring at the height of Typhoon “Emong” and monsoon rains in late July.
According to the President, the slope protection of the project disintegrated, causing boulders from the mountains to fall and damaging the road.
The foundation supporting the shed’s opening was also eroded because “the protection wall they built was extremely weak and undersized,” he noted. “So when the floodwater came in, when it grew heavier, it (the foundation) was immediately swept away.”
Kennon Road has since been closed to motorists due to risks of rockfalls and landslides.
“Here is the problem: This P260-million project [is] useless. It’s like the government threw money into the river. Useless,” the President lamented.
According to the DPWH, the national government allocated P274 million from its 2022 budget for the construction of a 152-meter, two-lane rock shed along Kennon Road to serve as a protective structure to safeguard motorists from rock falls and landslides.
The P264-million project, which was awarded to 3K Rock Engineering, started on Jan. 10, 2023, and was reported to be completed on April 13, 2025.
Based on DPWH records, 3K Rock listed engineer Francis Cuyop as its general manager.
Cuyop ran under the banner of Mr. Marcos’ Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) as congressman of Ifugao’s lone district in the May 2025 elections but lost to lawyer Solomon Chungalao.
The President said reconstructing the rock shed would cost the government at least twice the original amount.
“The P260 million that the government spent for this project had no effect whatsoever as to protect the slope. It’s like nothing has been constructed in the first place,” he told journalists accompanying him.
“It’s like they did not build anything—no walls, no riprap, no slope protection. That’s what happened. That’s why the value of their work is zero, complete zero,” he added.
‘Notorious for corruption’
Mr. Marcos also inspected the rock netting technology employed at Kennon, saying these devices were overpriced and 75 percent of the bloated expenses ended up as kickbacks.
The President said the key element missing in these projects was the coordination or consultation the DPWH needed to do with local officials and residents concerning programs that may affect their lives.
He said a long neglected public works practice was for local governments to evaluate and accept national projects within their jurisdictions.
“Before a national project is released to the local government, the local government has to formally accept it and that is something we will reinstate, “ Marcos said, citing his experience as Ilocos Norte governor.
Under the P114.18-million contract also won by 3K Rock, a 3,479-square-meter active mesh system should be put up on the portion of Kennon Road at Purok Maramal, Sitio Camp 5 also in Barangay Camp 4 to stabilize rock formations and minimize landslide risks.
The installation of the rockfall netting started on April 24, 2018, and was reported to be completed on June 15, 2019.
“This rock netting is very notorious for corruption. Rock netting has already been banned, but it kept being implemented,” the President said.
“I know the supplier of the rock netting. The price of rock netting is P3,200 [per square meter], but what was charged to the government was more than P12,000,” he added.
