ILOILO CITY — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Region 6 has launched a probe into the stalled P101.32-million Mansaya-Budburan Creek rehabilitation project in Lapuz district after the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) terminated the contract last month.

NBI agents, joined by eight barangay captains from Lapuz, conducted an ocular inspection Thursday to assess the unfinished project and validate documents turned over by DPWH. Barangay leaders included Thomson Alacre (Jalandoni Estate), Ryan Tachado (Lapuz Norte), Wilson Allona (Lapuz Sur), Erico Hortillosa (Mansaya), Efren Cenayo (Don Esteban), Arnel Asturias (Punong), Felix Ventura (Sinikway), and Jofel Ladiet (Alalasan).

Investigators documented disconnected revetment walls, thick vegetation, stagnant water, and garbage piles along the creek—conditions residents say worsen flooding in Lapuz during heavy rains. Photographs and reports from the inspection will be forwarded to the NBI central office for further action.

The inspection followed DPWH’s move on September 16, 2025, to terminate the contract, citing repeated delays and the presence of informal settlers that rendered sections of the site “inaccessible” and “beyond the agency’s control.”

In a letter to Mayor Raisa Treñas dated September 18, 2025, then-DPWH regional director Joel Limpengco said the project, awarded on February 10, 2023, to YPR General Contractor and Construction Supply Inc., owned by Pacifico “Curlee” and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya, barely took off despite nearly two years since its awarding.

Records show the rehabilitation plan covered 2,396 lineal meters of Mansaya Creek across Lapuz Norte, Don Esteban, and Sinikway, with specifications of 14.5 meters wide and 3 meters high. But by the time of termination, actual work progress stood at a mere 0.02 percent. DPWH has yet to disclose whether funds were already released before the contract was cut short.