ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider ICI asked to investigate LTO Command Center, infra projects in Davao

ICI asked to investigate LTO Command Center, infra projects in Davao

Published Dec 2, 2025 04:09 pm

At A Glance

  • An investigation on the anomalous government infrastructure works at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) as well as those in Mindanao was lobbied at the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) headquarters on Tuesday, Dec. 2, as the government continues to zero in on all rigged projects across the country.
An investigation on the anomalous government infrastructure works at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) as well as those in Mindanao was lobbied at the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) headquarters on Tuesday, Dec. 2, as the government continues to zero in on all rigged projects across the country.
Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Markus Lacanilao and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio submitted documents and letters of request to investigate overpriced projects, particularly the LTO's Central Command Center and the 121 flood control projects along the Davao and Matina Rivers from 2019 to 2022, respectively.
"Matatandaan noong nakaraang budget hearing noong Nov. 27, 2025 ay nabanggit ni Senator... Raffy Tulfo ang ipinagawang command center ng LTO dahil sa kakulangan ng operasyon at functionality (If you can remember from the previous budget hearing on Nov. 27, Senator Tulfo mentioned LTO's Command Center because of its lack of operationality and functionality)," Lacanilao said.
"Kaya naman ay ngayon po aming pormal na inihahain sa ICI ang rekomendasyon at mga dokumento patungkol sa central command center para sa masusing imbestigasyon (That's the reason why we are formally filing our recommendation as well as necessary documents before the ICI regarding this anomalous central command center for further investigation)," he added.
Meanwhile, Tinio sought ICI's help in looking into 80 contracts amounting to P4.44 billion that they have "red-flagged" 
These were the two contracts on an identical river section, which might suggest ghost projects or double payment; its appearance in the 2020 General Appropriations Act (GAA) twice, with two different contractors; the 65 contracts which lacked station numbers or defined lengths, which makes verification impossible and enabling ghost projects; the 10 contracts that had no corresponding line item in the GAA, which might represent potentially illegal expenditures; the 10 contracts that remain incomplete several years past their expiry dates; and the 49 contracts that are congressional insertions and all concentrated in Davao City's 1st legislative district.
LTO Command Center
Lacanilao reported to the ICI the alleged anomalous central command center, which was turned over in August 2021. 
"May mga dapat na cameras na dapat ilagay all over the Philippines, wala pong nangyaring mga 'yan. At saka, sa totoo lang, hindi po sya gumagana (There were cameras that should've been installed all over the Philippines, but that didn't happen. Besides, some cameras that were actually installed were not working)," he said.
The project was secured by beleaguered former Ako Bicol Party-list representative Zaldy Co's Sunwest Corporation in a joint venture with other construction firms.
"Saka may overpayment po ito na (And there's also an overpayment amounting) P26 million," he said. The total project cost P946 million, he noted.
"Ika-7th week ko palang. So noong pumasok ako, inembestigahan ko po ang LTO, nagtataka ako doon sa mga nakaraan, hindi nasilip ito (It's just my 7th week since assuming this office. So when I entered, I already ordered the investigation of LTO. And I was really curious why during the past administration, nobody looked into it)," he added.
Anomalous projects in Mindanao
Meanwhile, Tinio's request centered on the anomalous projects along the Davao and Matina Rivers.
In a letter addressed to ICI chairman retired Supreme Court (SC) associate justice Andres Reyes Jr., he said 10 contracts amounting to P713 million was awarded to top contractor Genesis88 Construction Inc.
He alleged in a letter that the firm "has documented ties to the previous administration".
Meanwhile, the other five top contractors he reported "account for 53 percent of all red-flagged contract values".
"We respectfully urge the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to conduct a thorough investigation of these flood control projects, with priority attention to physical verification of incomplete and '100 percent complete but ongoing' projects," he said.
"These incomplete flood control structures leave Davao City residents vulnerable to deadly flooding. The failure to deliver critical infrastructure—while contractors and officials potentially profit—may constitute criminal negligence," he added.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.