The Commission on Audit (COA) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) asked the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) to investigate the administrative and criminal liabilities of three contractors and government officials in the P342.66 million “ghost and substandard” flood control projects in Bulacan.

COA Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba and DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon led the filing of five Fraud Audit Reports as evidence on five flood control projects implemented by the DPWH-Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office with Wawao Builders, St. Timothy Construction Corporation, and Syms Construction Trading.

The reports stated that Wawao Builders was responsible for flood-mitigation structures in Barangay Frances, Calumpit in Bulacan with a total cost of P77,199,999.65.

State auditors discovered that it was listed as "100 percent complete" but the contractor only finished 77.90 meters -- falling short of the 124 meters stated in the original proposal.

The COA said that Wawao Builders was likewise paid an additional P3,130,041.22 without any documentation that would explain why the costs went up, which, the commission said, was contrary to the provisions of the Government Procurement Reform Act.

"During the inspection, shoddy workmanship issues were easily seen. Numerous cracks along the dike crest were observed, with an approximate total crack length of 3.9 meters and with crack width varying from 2 to 3.2 centimeters. Also, uneven concrete surfaces along the structure were evident," the COA said.

It said that another botched project from Wawao Builders is the construction of flood mitigation structures for P74,041,090.22 at Barangay Sta. Lucia. While the project was deemed as "90 percent complete," auditors said they could not confirm this as the dike was tilting, misaligned, and "riddled with cracks."

Named liable from Wawao Builders is Mark Allan V. Arevalo together with District Engineer Henry C. Alcantara, Assistant District Engineer Brice Ericson D. Hernandez, Project Engineer Paul Jayson F. Duya, Construction Section Chief Jaypee D. Mendoza.

St. Timothy, which is owned by the family of Sarah Discaya and her husband, Pacifico Discaya, was included in the COA audit for two projects. The first was the rehabilitation of River Protection Structure in Bulusan, Calumpit, Bulacan with a total contract cost of P96,498,200.70.

"Auditors found a massive P38,493,511.73 discrepancy between the agency's project cost and COA's evaluated cost," the COA said.

It said the audit team likewise found several red flags in the Discaya-led rehabilitation, which was already marked as "100 percent complete."

It also said that dredging and embankment work was found to be overstated, and the measurements used were wrong.

The auditors complained that there was no documentation to the project, so they could not verify the number of materials used. The company also failed to prove the volume of soil removed as there were no surveys conducted or logbooks that recorded its progress, they said.

The project was likewise not connected to other flood control works, which the auditors said could still cause flooding in the area.

Worse, the COA said, there was a cost increase linked to an undated variation order of P2,893,365.79. Since this did not have any details or location in the as-built plan, the COA said that they could not verify what additional works were done for the project.

Alcantara, Hernandez, Duya, and Mendoza were once against named liable for the mess caused by St. Timothy together with Planning and Design Chief Ernesto G. Galang, Maintenance Section OIC-Chief Lorenzo A. Pagtalunan, and Quality Assurance Chief Norberto L. Santos.

From St. Timothy, named responsible was representative Ma. Roma Angeline D. Rimando and the company's officers and members of the board.

The second project of St. Timothy was the "100 percent complete" flood control structures worth P39,192,632.83 in Barangays Buguion, Sergio Bayan, Balite, San Marcos, and Palimbang.

For these structures, the COA only 24,232 kilograms of steel plates were installed even though they were paid to install 48,465 kilograms.

This meant that St. Timothy was overpaid P3,034,692.33, it said. Aside from being overpaid, the auditors even spotted a hole in the concrete structure that is liable to worsen over time, it also said.

"The cost of the project also increased through an undated change order. This is once again a red flag indicating circumvention of relevant procurement laws and regulations," the COA said.

Alcantara and Hernandez were once again named liable together with Project Engineer Merg Jaron C. Laus, Mendoza, Galang, Pagtalunan, and Santos. Rimando and other St. Timothy officials are also included.

The third contractor, Syms Construction Trading, was named by state auditors due to the reinforced concrete river wall installed in Barangay Piel, Baliuag in Bulacan worth P55,730,911.60.

The COA said that the DPWH - Bulacan 1st DEO initially pinpointed a different project location that did not match the approved plan.

When the correct site was finally identified, auditors discovered that it was covered by another project but no construction was found at the site.

"Owing to these observations, there is a clear indication that the project has not commenced implementation. Yet, based on these records, Syms Construction Trading has been fully paid as of June 30, 2025," the COA said.

Alcantara, Hernandez, and Mendoza were named liable for the ghost project of Syms Construction together with Accountant Juanito C. Mendoza, Engineers Jolo Mari V. Tayao, Lemuel Ephraim SD Roque, John Michael E. Ramos, and Arjay S. Domasig. From Syms Construction, Sally N. Santos was named liable.

The COA said the complaint filed before the OMB represents the first batch of audit conducted by the COA on all DPWH flood control projects from July 1, 2022 to May 30, 2025 in Bulacan.