DPWH confirms EGB finished 2019 Sarrat flood-control project; blacklisting failed

The Daily Tribune has obtained and verified official Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) documents confirming that EGB Construction Corporation successfully completed and turned over the ₱39.82-million flood-control project along the Bongo River in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, in 2018–2019 — contradicting a 2019 recommendation by the Ilocos Norte Sangguniang Panlalawigan to blacklist the firm.

The documents, secured from a legitimate source and confirmed by the Daily Tribune as authentic, include the Final Completion Inspection Report, Certificate of Completion, and Certificate of Acceptance issued by the DPWH Ilocos Norte 1st District Engineering Office.

The Final Completion Inspection Report, dated June 20, 2018, declared the “project is completed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications” and bore the signatures of DPWH engineers from the Planning & Design, Maintenance, Quality Assurance, and Construction Sections.

The Certificate of Completion, issued June 25, 2018, confirmed that the project — officially listed as Repair/Rehab of Flood Control Structure along Bongo River (Upstream of Sarrat Bridge, Left Bank), Brgy. San Marcos, Sarrat, Ilocos Norte — was satisfactorily completed in line with contract requirements. The document, signed by District Engineer Nestor Pasion with the conforme of EGB owner Erni Baggao, notes the contractor’s continuing responsibility for defects during the one-year Defects Liability Period.

The Certificate of Acceptance, dated May 24, 2019, was issued after that period ended, certifying the project was “free from defects and failures which [are] traceable to poor workmanship, use of poor quality materials, and non-compliance” with the contract. Signed by District Engineer Marta Venus Torio, it marked the formal acceptance of the project by the implementing office.

In a direct statement to the Daily Tribune, Baggao said:

“Blacklisting did not happen because the project was completed and accepted according to DPWH standards. We offer legitimate works across the Philippines — we owe it to the people that we make sure the quality of our works are within the design specifications of the implementing agency.”

Under Section 69 of Republic Act No. 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act) and its 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations, only the procuring entity or implementing agency — in this case, the DPWH as the agency that bid out and implemented the project — has the authority to initiate blacklisting proceedings against a contractor or supplier. Local government bodies, such as a provincial board, may issue recommendations, but these have no binding effect unless adopted by the procuring entity following due process.

Despite formal requests, the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte — particularly the Sangguniang Panlalawigan — has not yet released a copy of its March 2019 resolution recommending EGB’s blacklisting, leaving unanswered whether the DPWH ever considered or acted upon it.

These official DPWH records now highlight a key point: if the implementing agency itself certified the project as defect-free in 2019, the legal basis for any blacklist recommendation becomes questionable.

The Daily Tribune continues to seek comment from the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and DPWH central offices, and will report further developments as they arise.