COA sets fraud audit on Bulacan projects
AT LEAST 17 mayors have asked President Ferdinand Marcos to unmask, prosecute, and if proven guilty, jail the politicians, government officials and contractors who lined their pockets from substandard or even “ghost” flood-control deals.
This as the Commission on Audit ordered a fraud audit of flood infrastructure projects in Bulacan province following a directive by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to investigate alleged anomalies in the government’s flood control program.
The Mayors for Good Governance – led by Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, and Isabela City Mayor Sitti Hataman, said corruption in flood-control projects has become “more alarming, pervasive, and systematic.”
“The Filipino people have waited long enough. Families have suffered unrelenting floods and landslides. Transparency is no longer optional, but a duty we owe to every Filipino,” the local officials said.
“Our position is clear: Full transparency and genuine accountability now. Those who have stolen public funds must face the full force of the law. Once proven guilty, politicians and bureaucrats must not only be removed from office, but also prosecuted and jailed.”
More local chief executives are expected to sign the statement, which also called on the Department of Public Works and Highways to make a full disclosure of all project details, including Bill of Quantities and Feasibility Studies.
Magalong earlier said at least 67 lawmakers were involved in flood-control projects, with some getting kickbacks as much as 30 to 40 percent of the budget.
As this developed, the COA order covers flood control projects of DPWH in the flood-prone province of Bulacan, where the government had poured P44 billion in funds to mitigate flooding– accounting for the highest chunk of funding in all of Region 3 at 45 percent.
Central Luzon, which suffers from worsening perennial flooding, ranks first among all Philippine regions in flood control funding, as it received P98 billion between July 1, 2022 and May 30, 2025 or 18 percent of the total P548 billion.
“Given the critical issues raised by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. regarding the implementation of these projects, particularly in the Province of Bulacan, a fraud audit is an immediate and unequivocal necessity,” COA chairman Gamaliel Cordoba wrote in a memo issued on August 12.
Cordoba’s order directed all supervising auditors and audit team leaders at DPWH District Engineering Offices in Central Luzon to submit “all relevant documents in your custody necessary for the conduct of the fraud audit.”
In a visit this week to Calumpit, Bulacan, the President saw for himself a questionable river protection project which had been declared finished in official records but was still visibly incomplete.
“We have to find out who’s responsible for this, whether from the government or the private sector. They must be held accountable for what they have done,” Mr. Marcos said in an interview after the site inspection.
The river protection structure was built by St. Timothy Construction Corporation, while the flood mitigation structure was constructed by Wawao Builders.
The two firms are among the top 15 contractors that secured most of the flood control projects nationwide.
Mr. Marcos flagged the substandard flood control work of the two contractors, citing signs of concrete deterioration caused by their failure to comply with project specifications.
“When you look at the reports submitted to us, everything’s marked as completed…Then, here comes the issue with the quality. It’s very easy to see (it’s substandard),” the President said.
“Then there was supposed to be desiltation. Again, in the contract, desiltation and dredging are marked as completed. But look at it — how can that be considered completed? Look, there’s an island in the middle, and grass is growing on it. That means they haven’t been dredged in a long time,” he added.
