House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio on Tuesday asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate up to P4.4 billion worth of flood control projects in Davao City’s 1st District over alleged irregularities, including overlapping contracts, double funding, and missing project details.
The lawmaker said his team reviewed 121 flood control contracts implemented from 2019 to 2022 and recorded under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Of these, he claimed 80 contracts showed possible red flags amounting to billions of pesos.
According to Tinio, the alleged irregularities included:
- Total overlap (P135 million): Two contracts allegedly funded construction on identical river sections, raising concerns over possible duplicate payments or ghost projects.
- Double funding (P115 million): The same project allegedly appeared twice in the 2020 General Appropriations Act and was awarded to two different contractors.
- Location changes and shortchanging (P425 million): Eight projects were allegedly implemented in locations different from those authorized and covered significantly shorter lengths than appropriated, yet contractors allegedly received nearly full payment.
- Contracts without specifications (P3.56 billion): A total of 65 contracts allegedly lacked key details, such as station numbers or project lengths, making verification difficult and raising concerns about possible ghost projects.
- No GAA authorization (P623 million): A total of 10 contracts allegedly had no corresponding line item in the GAA, raising questions over potentially unauthorized expenditures.
- Incomplete projects (P713 million): A total of 10 contracts allegedly remain unfinished years after their expiry dates. Three were paradoxically tagged as “100-percent complete” but still marked “ongoing,” while one project, Matina Pangi Bridge 3, was allegedly only 64-percent complete after five years.
- Congressional insertions: A total of 49 of the 80 red-flagged contracts were reportedly congressional insertions, all concentrated in Davao City’s 1st District.
“We respectfully urge the Ombudsman 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,” Tinio said in a letter submitted to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla.
In a separate interview with reporters, he said the alleged irregularities bore “red flags” of possible anomalies.
The party-list representative noted the biggest contractor was Genesis88, owned by Glenn Escandor, a former sports adviser to former president Rodrigo Duterte.
He said he had earlier asked the now-defunct Independent Commission for Infrastructure to look into the projects handled by Genesis88 and other contractors, but the body ended operations in March without resolving the Davao City cases.
The lawmaker added that the Ombudsman’s ongoing efforts to pursue flood control-related investigations prompted him to formally seek a probe.
“The Ombudsman previously said they are in the thick of preparing the flood control cases to be filed against senators. This is an opportunity for us to inform the Ombudsman that we did due diligence in examining these contracts and asking for an investigation based on the data we have gathered,” the lawmaker said.
DPWH welcomes plunder raps
Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works and Highways on Tuesday welcomed the Department of Justice’s recommendation to file plunder and graft charges against several officials linked to alleged irregularities in flood control projects, with Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon saying the move reflected strong coordination among government agencies.
The DOJ earlier recommended before the Office of the Ombudsman the filing of criminal charges against Senator Jinggoy Estrada, former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, and several DPWH officials and engineers over the alleged flood control corruption scandal.
Dizon said the filing of cases was the result of months of cooperation among the DPWH, DOJ, and the Ombudsman.
Estrada described the move as completely unjust as he expressed confidence that official records will clear his name.
“I find this baffling and unjust, considering that the Senate Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office categorically stated that there is no record showing that I introduced any insertions into the 2025 budget,” he said.
In an effort to present this evidence, Estrada filed an omnibus motion on May 15 requesting the DOJ to reopen the preliminary investigation into the complaints originally initiated by the National Bureau of Investigation against various lawmakers and public works executives.
“This is an unfortunate development. I am confident that the truth, supported by facts and official records, will ultimately prevail,” Estrada said.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated. Originally posted with the headline “Solon seeks Ombudsman probe of P4.4-B Davao flood control projects.”
