Rogue contractors deserve death — Tulfo

Senator Erwin Tulfo said he supports a major revamp of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) amid the investigation into the questionable flood control projects across the country.

On Monday, newly minted Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon announced an immediate “sweeping revamp” of the PCAB.

“Everyone should be fired, including the board of directors. You’re on the accreditation board, and you’re also a contractor? What kind of nonsense is that?” Tulfo said.

Two or three members of the PCAB were reported to have secured government contracts while they were serving on the board.

EGB Construction Corp., owned by Erni Baggao and AN Escalante Construction Inc., owned by Arthur Escalante, bagged government projects while both were on the board of the PCAB, which licenses government contractors.

EGB Construction was one of the 15 contractors named by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in August as having cornered the bulk of the country’s flood control projects from 2022 to 2025.

“That’s why they can’t regulate those contractors because they are also contractors, right? How can you catch a thief when you’re also a thief,” Tulfo said during the hearing on the flood control projects by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chaired by Senator Rodante Marcoleta.

Tulfo said the prosecution of those involved in the flood control project mess will be in the hands of the independent commission that will be established by Marcos.

“In PCAB, there should be no contractors so this mess won’t happen again — because it happened again, like deja vu with Janet Napoles. But at that time, she was just one person, now there are so many contractors,” he said.

“That’s why we really have to come up with a law to stop this. If we have to recommend the death penalty, then let’s do that so they will learn. Putting them in prison is not enough,” he added.

Likewise, Tulfo maintained that resigned DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan should clarify the issues surrounding ghost and substandard flood control projects across the country.

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Monday granted the request of Bonoan to be excused from the hearing into the anomalous flood control projects following his resignation as secretary of the DPWH.

However, for Tulfo, Bonoan should be present at the hearings.

“I think he must be there. He really needs to answer questions. He has to be there to answer the questions because Secretary Vince Dizon can’t answer them all,” Tulfo said in an interview.