Contractors: Abolish lawmakers’ powers over infra projects

Believe it or not, not all contractors are corrupt, just as not all district engineers are unscrupulous, audacious and greedy.

There are decent players, many of whom opt not to bid for government projects such as flood-control structures, etc.

I recently sat down with some of them and topping their wish list is to remove from lawmakers the power to identify the projects they want funded in their districts. Consequently, they also want Congress’ power over budget insertions to be clipped as well.

“Imagine, the budget for 2026, they (lawmakers) will do budget insertions now. The projects will be implemented in January with no design – no detailed engineering, no planning,” a contractor said.

All these point to congressional insertions in the national budget, which in the simplest terms just mean altering the National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted by the Executive for 2026.

For the contractors I spoke to – let’s call them the good guys because they said they really want their industry to adhere to the highest standards of workmanship and good governance – the best solution is to stop congressional insertions and leave it to the departments to identify the projects.

This is really where corruption starts, they said.

While this may create a new layer of corruption, it will likely be less severe than what is happening now with lawmakers’ blanket powers to siphon funds through congressional insertions.

This is what Sen. Ping Lacson also proposed. He said Congress should just adopt the NEP submitted by the Executive for 2026. The Executive has proposed a P6.793-trillion budget for 2026.

If Congress goes along with the proposal, it will be the first time that lawmakers will not insert amendments to finance their pet projects in the annual outlay.

“For a change, why not have the Senate adopt the NEP, so that if there will be problems in implementing projects in 2026, it will be on the Executive department,” Lacson said in a radio interview.

“At least if it’s the NEP, I’m sure the items in it were studied carefully by the implementing agencies concerned,” he added.

He said he would propose this during the upcoming Senate briefing with the Development Budget Coordination Committee.

The Senate and House of Representatives can both adopt the NEP, then guard the implementation of the projects in the national outlay, Lacson said.

Lacson, who recently delivered a bombshell exposé, calls out questionable insertions in the budget to favored lawmakers’ projects, causing realignments in the final General Appropriations Act, where social services are slashed to accommodate the politicians’ requests.

“This will be a one-year experiment. If it fails, we go back to the realignment,” Lacson said.

This makes sense. It’s time we do this because we all saw what Congress did in the 2025 budget – more than a hundred billion in budget insertions which were siphoned from the budgets of the education and health sectors.

This, indeed, must stop.

As for the contractors I recently sat down with, they are doing what they can to raise the bar in the industry and are themselves saddened and frustrated with the practice in government-related projects.

They are members of the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP), a policy-making body chaired by the Trade secretary and comprising of the secretaries of Public Works, Transportation and Labor and Employment; president of the Philippine Contractors Association (PCA), representatives from the private construction sector, chairperson of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB), chairperson of the Philippine Overseas Construction Board (POCB), chairperson of the Philippine Domestic Construction Board (PDCB) and chairperson of the Construction Manpower Development Foundation (CMDF).

Those I sat down with include PCAB chairman Pericles Dakay, PDCB chairman Levy Espiritu, CMDF board member Joli Borja, POCB board member Anthony Fernandez, CIAP private sector representative Ramon Allado, PDCB board member Junn Elepaño and PCAB executive director Herbert Matienzo.

CIAP’s implementing boards include the PCAB, which is vested with authority to issue, suspend and revoke licenses of contractors and investigate violations.

Actions in relation to the investigation of flood control projects.

PCAB, they explained, has also taken concrete steps to help address the flood control issues:

They have sought from the DPWH a list of all projects awarded to the Top 15 contractors identified as having the most flood control projects nationwide:

• Status of project implementation;

• Findings from inspection or monitoring relative to quality, timeliness and compliance with specifications;

• Any noted irregularities or violations in the implementation of the projects.

Issued summons to Top 15 contractors

They also summoned the Top 15 contractors who were required to file a verified answer/explanation, supported by documents and affidavits. The summons emphasized that failure to appear or respond would authorize PCAB to decide the matter based on available evidence.

Voluntary leave of absence

One of its board members, whose company is on the Top 15 list, went on voluntary leave of absence.

“In view of the ongoing investigation and out of delicadeza, notwithstanding Section 3 of Republic Act 4566 which allows board members to be engaged in contracting business, and to uphold as well the credibility of PCAB, board member Erni Baggao (also the managing officer of EGB Construction Corp). filed an official leave of absence effective Aug. 19, 2025.”

PCAB is also conducting clarificatory hearings and investigative proceedings to establish compliance with RA 4566 and the Contractors’ Code of Ethics.

“These actions demonstrate PCAB’s commitment to accountability, due process and adherence to its regulatory mandate under RA 4566 and related laws,” PCAB said.

*      *      *

Email: [email protected]. Follow her on X @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.