Senate subpoenas 10 contractors in flood control probe

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate has approved subpoenas for 10 of the 15 contractors who cornered the bulk of flood control projects since the start of the Marcos administration after they skipped last week’s Blue Ribbon committee hearing on alleged anomalies.

Senate President Francis Escudero’s office confirmed that the subpoenas have been signed and will be sent today. The committee was still finalizing the date of the next hearing as of yesterday.

Among those covered are Mark Allan Arevalo of Wawao Builders, whose alleged ghost projects in Bulacan were the subject of Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s privilege speech last week, and Sara Discaya of Alpha and Omega Gen. Contractor, who lost the Pasig mayoral race earlier this year.

Also subpoenaed was Marjorie Samidan of MG Samidan Construction, which bagged 58 projects worth P5.02 billion despite having only P250,000 in paid-up capital.

Like MG Samidan, Centerways Construction was flagged for under-capitalization, from P1.25 million at incorporation to P45 million most recently, yet cornered 83 projects worth P5.1 billion. Its owner, Lawrence Lubiano, was also summoned.

Others covered are Edgar Acosta of Hi-Tone Construction, Romeo Miranda of Royal Crown Monarch Construction, Ma. Roma Angeline Rimando of St. Timothy Construction, Aderma Angelie Alcazar of Sunwest and Eumir Villanueva of Topnotch Catalyst Builders.

Five other contractors have already faced the inquiry: Legacy Construction Corp. president Alex Abelido, QM Builders owner Allan Quirante, EGC Construction owner Ernie Baggao, Triple 8 Construction owner Wilfredo Natividad and Ryan Willie Uy of Road Edge Trading & Development Services.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada yesterday warned that contractors who continue to evade the probe could face arrest.

“I still don’t believe that they are going to have many excuses because once the excuse is unacceptable, I will really move for their arrest, for the committee to issue a warrant of arrest,” he told ANC.

Estrada said the panel will also summon officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Commission on Audit, stressing that the inquiry would get to the bottom of what he described as possible collusion in the multibillion-peso flood control program.

Discaya, one of the country’s top flood control contractors, has a lot of explaining to do, he added.

“Sino ba ang contact mo diyan sa DPWH? How come you garnered so many contracts there?” Estrada said, adding that he would press her to explain her unusual success if given the chance.

President Marcos earlier directed St. Timothy Construction, a Pasig-based firm linked to Discaya and her husband, Pacifico, to explain why one of its Bulacan projects remained incomplete and substandard more than two years past its deadline.

For his part, Blue Ribbon vice chairman Sen. Erwin Tulfo urged the Department of Justice to file charges against contractors, DPWH officials and politicians linked to alleged ghost and substandard projects.

“They stole trillions of pesos from the Filipino people, so they must be held accountable,” Tulfo said, citing disclosures from Marcos and Lacson as grounds for prosecution.

He added that excessive kickbacks from politicians, ranging from 20 to 25 percent, pushed contractors into cutting corners, or abandoning projects altogether.

Echoing Tulfo’s call for accountability, Blue Ribbon vice chair Sen. Bong Go warned that the Senate may move to scrap funding for flood control projects in next year’s budget if those behind the irregularities are not held accountable.

“Better to channel it to programs that directly help people, especially in health,” Go said, noting that the DPWH receives three times the budget of the Department of Health.

He described the anomalies as “an insult to the Filipino people,” stressing that billions of pesos supposedly intended to protect communities instead ended up enriching a few.

Hospitals and public buildings have been left vulnerable as floods again hit large parts of the country, he added.

Go urged the committee to hold contractors, implementers, proponents and even lawmakers accountable for the alleged irregularities in flood control projects, warning that ghost projects and substandard infrastructure have put lives at risk.

“It is an insult to the Filipino people that while billions were allocated for flood control, many parts of the country, including hospitals, are again underwater,” he said, adding that public funds may have gone to “a few who enriched themselves” instead of protecting communities.

DPWH records show P1.2 trillion was spent on flood control projects since 2011, with Marcos disclosing that 15 contractors cornered 20 percent, or about P100 billion.

Lacson earlier flagged five firms for leasing licenses and three others for alleged ghost projects in Bulacan.

P1.4 billion deals linked to Davao’s Ceniza

Meanwhile, a construction company linked to Davao de Oro 2nd District Rep. Jhong Ceniza cornered at least P1.41 billion worth of flood control projects from the DPWH between 2022 and 2025.

Corporate records show that R.A. Pahati Construction & Supply Inc. – where Ceniza, whose legal name is Leonel Domo-ong Ceniza, and his wife Jella Pahati Ceniza are listed as incorporators – won multiple DPWH contracts across several provinces.

Among these were the P35-million Mabo Creek revetment leading to Kingking River in Pantukan, Davao de Oro and the P95-million Matilao River revetment project.

Both were awarded in 2023, when Ceniza was still serving as Pantukan mayor, raising concerns of possible conflict of interest.

The firm also bagged the ongoing P150-million rehabilitation of the Davao River revetment in Barangay Mandug, Davao City in 2024 and a P86.8-million Saug flood control project in Asuncion, Davao del Norte in 2022.

Beyond Mindanao, R.A. Pahati handled 13 projects in Nueva Ecija worth P633 million, two projects in Zambales worth P145 million and another in Pampanga worth P72.3 million. Additional contracts were awarded in Bulacan, Ilocos Norte, Camarines Sur and Laguna.

The company was among those flagged by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who earlier warned that some DPWH-funded flood control projects could be “ghost” projects.

Ceniza, however, rejected the allegations.

“These are old issues that were hurled at me during the last elections,” he said, stressing that he had been a contractor even before entering politics.

“I was never involved in any ghost projects. If I was mentioned it was not because I was involved in any anomaly, which my opponents are trying to portray,” he added, noting that he and his family remain confident that their names will be cleared.

While R.A. Pahati cornered P1.41 billion in contracts, it was not listed among the DPWH’s top 15 contractors with the most flood control projects.