ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider COA seeks prosecution of DPWH officials, contractors in P325-M 'ghost' flood control projects in Bulacan

COA seeks prosecution of DPWH officials, contractors in P325-M 'ghost' flood control projects in Bulacan

Published Jan 20, 2026 10:12 am  |  Updated Jan 20, 2026 01:41 pm
The Commission on Audit (COA) has submitted to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) four fraud audit reports (FARs) on the P325 million "ghost" flood-control projects which all reeked of “systemic misuse of public funds.”
The COA said the projects, implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office, were awarded to contractors Wawao Builders and Darcy and Anna Builders & Trading.
In its reports, the COA said that all those recommended for prosecution should be charged with graft and corruption under Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and malversation of public funds and falsification of public documents under the Revised Penal Code.
Of the four projects, it said that three contracts were awarded to Wawao Builders and one to Darcy and Anna Builders & Trading.
The first project in Guiguinto, Bulacan was for the construction of a riverbank protection structure at Barangay Santa Cruz with a total contract cost of P96,499,302.69.
The COA said its auditors found that the structure was not constructed at the location specified in the approved Detailed Engineering Design (DED) plans, but were instead relocated without authority.
State auditors also noticed discrepancies between the approved and as-built plans, including a reduction in project length and altered cross-sections, it also said.
The COA recommended that Engineer Henry C. Alcantara, Engineer Brice Ericson D. Hernandez, Planning & Design Section Chief Ernesto Galang, Maintenance Section Chief Lorenzo A. Pagtalunan, Maintenance Section OIC Jaime R. Hernandez, Engineer Merg Jaron C. Laus, Engineer John Michael E. Ramos, Engineer Ericka Justine P. Chico, Engineer Isiah Lor V. Galang, and Mark Allan V. Arevalo of Wawao Builders should be held liable for the project.
The second project was for the construction of a riverbank protection structure at Barangay Iba-Ibayo in Hagonoy, Bulacan for P77,197,558.67.
The COA said that auditors did not find any structure at the designated project site despite it being declared as 100 percent complete.
It also said that the structure identified by the DPWH was located approximately 694 meters away from the approved site and lacked any approved revised plans or authority for relocation, so any payment made under the contract was deemed invalid.
Alcantara, Hernandez, Galang, Construction Section Chief Jaypee D. Mendoza, Engineer Lemuel Ephraim SD Roque, Engineer Sheena Bernadette B. Morales, Engineer Jolo Mari V. Tayao, Engineer Paul Jayson F. Duya, and Arevalo of Wawao Builders were recommended for prosecution.
The third project was for the construction of a riverbank protection structure at Barangay San Jose in Calumpit, Bulacan for P77,199,226.37.
The COA said its auditors found several inconsistencies in the location and length of the riverbank protection structure.
It said that a structure bearing a different contract identification (ID) marking and the measurements did not match the approved bid and as-built plans, and the structure identified by the DPWH was outside the approved site.
Recommended for prosecution were Alcantara, Hernandez, Galang, Duya, Tayao, Mendoza, Roque, Engineer Raymond T. Ramos, and Arevalo of Wawao Builders.
The fourth project with contractor Darcy and Anna Builders & Trading with a total contract cost of P74,120,639.56 was for the construction of a riverbank protection structure at Barangay Babatnin in Malolos City, Bulacan.
The COA said its auditors found that no structure was built at the approved site, while the structure identified by DPWH representatives predated the contract by nearly a year.
Also, it said there were inconsistencies with the approved project location, which raised concerns over possible misrepresentation.
Alcantara, Hernandez, Mendoza, Galang, Tayao, Roque, Morales, and Darcy Kimel D. Respecio of Darcy and Anna Builders & Trading were recommended for prosecution.
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.