CoA uncovers more questionable Bulacan projects

The Commission on Audit (CoA) has uncovered more anomalies in Bulacan’s first district involving flood control projects worth over P325 million and implicating many of the same officials and contractors already under investigation.

In a report released Tuesday, the CoA said it had filed four Fraud Audit Reports with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) on more potential misuse of public funds.

The projects were implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways-Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office and awarded to Wawao Builders and Darcy and Anna Builders & Trading.

CoA said its investigation revealed recurring signs of the systemic misuse of public funds.

Through physical inspections, drone surveys, geotagged photos, and historical satellite imagery, the CoA found that the approved project sites had no flood control or riverbank protection structures — despite official records claiming they were completed or mostly finished.

CoA also found that some structures already existed before the contracts’ effectivity, raising the possibility that public funds were used to pay for works that were not newly built, and noted missing documents that undermined the credibility of reported accomplishments and payments.

One flagged project involved Wawao Builders’ P96.5-million riverbank protection project in Barangay Santa Cruz, Guiguinto, where CoA found the structure was not built at the approved site and appeared to have been relocated without authority.

The CoA also highlighted discrepancies between the approved plans and the structures actually built, including shorter project lengths and altered cross-sections, casting doubt on the accuracy of the reported accomplishments.

The DPWH personnel allegedly involved were engineers Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez, Merg Jaron Laus, John Michael Ramos, Ericka Justine Chico, and Isiah Lor Galang; planning and design section chief Ernesto Galang, maintenance section chief Lorenzo Pagtalunan, maintenance section OIC Jaime Hernandez and Mark Allan V. Arevalo of Wawao Builders.

Another Wawao Builders project, valued at P77.2 million in Barangay Iba-Ibayo, Hagonoy, was reported as 100-percent complete but the CoA found no structure at the site.

The structure identified by DPWH representatives was some 694 meters from the approved site and lacked any authorized revised plans, prompting the CoA to question the validity of any payments made under the contract.

Those identified as liable were Alcantara, Hernandez, Galang, construction section chief Jaypee Mendoza, and engineers Lemuel Ephraim Roque, Sheena Bernadette Morales, Jolo Mari Tayao, Paul Jayson Duya and Arevalo of Wawao Builders.

In Calumpit, a P77.2-million Wawao Builders project in Barangay San Jose showed multiple inconsistencies, including a structure with a different contract ID and measurements that didn’t match the approved bid and as-built plans.

The CoA said the structure was constructed outside the approved site, casting doubt on the claimed 100-percent completion and potentially voiding any related payments.

Those identified as liable were Alcantara, Hernandez, Galang, Duya, Tayao, Mendoza, Roque, engineer Raymond T. Ramos and Arevalo of Wawao Builders.

A fourth project, the P74.1-million riverbank protection project by Darcy and Anna Builders & Trading in Barangay Babatnin, Malolos City, was also flagged after CoA confirmed that no structure was built at the approved site.

The structure identified by DPWH representatives predated the contract by nearly a year, based on satellite imagery, while progress photos submitted by the contractor had embedded coordinates inconsistent with the approved project location, raising concerns of possible misrepresentation.

Those identified as liable were Alcantara, Hernandez, Mendoza, Galang, Tayao, Roque, Morales, and Darcy Kimel D. Respecio of Darcy and Anna Builders & Trading.