Mayor Joy Belmonte acknowledged Friday a number of problematic flood control projects in Quezon City under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), revealing that out of the 254 listed projects only two of these had been approved by the local government.
Belmonte said the other flood control projects worth P14.24-billion were either disapproved, incomplete, or lacked certificates of coordination (COC) under the Local Government Code and the city ordinance.
“I am convinced that there are anomalous projects,” Belmonte said, expressing anger and frustration at the situation because it appeared the DPWH had “disrespected” the city government. She noted that 16 projects tried to apply for COCs but did not qualify.
The mayor said only two projects secured the required COC from the local government before construction started. A 66-phase project, which is among the 254 flood control projects, is currently under investigation by the local government.
This developed after the city government inspected all flood control projects constructed in 2021 until 2025 amid President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s widespread probe into the DPWH’s questionable infrastructure programs.
Belmonte identified the top seven contractors in Quezon City as Triple 8 Construction & Supply Inc., EGB Construction Corp., Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc., St. Timothy Construction Corp., Legacy Construction Corp., Alpha & Omega Gen Contractor & Development Corp. and Wawao Builders.
Some of the disapproved projects include the Matalahib Creek pumping station worth P95,998,547; Mariblo pumping station worth P282,850,771.95; and Sta. Cruz pumping station worth P282,847,634.84.
Of the 1,652 DPWH projects in Quezon City from 2021 to 2025, only 138 or 8.4% have approved COCs. Belmonte said some of the projects they investigated were marked as complete, but when they visited the site, they were still ongoing.
“Some projects have uncertain project sites based on the project title, so it is difficult to determine whether the project has actually been completed or not,” Belmonte said in a GMA News report.
The city government through its legal officer Carlo Lopez Austria said “should violations [be] proven, both officials and the contractors could face administrative cases, such as grave misconduct or even criminal liability.”
Belmonte advocated for better coordination and reforms in the implementation of flood control as well as the other infrastructure projects. “We hope that we will still receive more reports as we monitor and inspect the projects,” she said.
“We aim to hold accountable the involved people liable for graft and corruption,” the mayor emphasized. She vowed to help in the investigation of anomalous flood control projects in view of President Marcos’ policy.
