BAUANG, La Union — The local government here says it has no knowledge of the hundreds of millions — if not billions — of pesos worth of controversial flood control projects supposedly implemented in town.
Engineer Reiner Calica of the Municipal Planning and Development Office admitted Wednesday that he and their chief, Florence Rolluda, were completely unaware of any Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects in Bauang.
“Normally, DPWH coordinates with LGUs so local officials and planning offices are informed. But in this case, we had no idea or knowledge of these projects,” Calica said.
Last week, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon personally inspected a P180-million flood control project in Barangay Acao and was appalled. He described it as “super substandard” after finding multiple defects.
Dizon said he would summon contractor Silverwolves Construction Corp., as well as DPWH regional director Ronnel Tan and district engineer Gil Lorenzo, to explain how the project was marked complete when it was clearly unfinished.
“The project seems to have been rushed despite being far from complete,” Dizon said.
But that wasn’t the only questionable work. Another flood control project — a revetment under the Bauang River bridge — has been drawing ridicule from residents. Photos and videos taken by DAILY TRIBUNE show rows of boulders placed beside the bridge with no visible purpose.
An elderly resident put it bluntly: “We can’t understand what this is for. It’s useless.”
District Engineer Gil Lorenzo earlier admitted that more than P2 billion was allocated for flood control in La Union’s 2nd District this year. He insisted, however, that the projects were aboveboard — contradicting both Dizon’s findings and residents’ complaints.
Reports indicate that from 2022 to 2024, about P9 billion worth of flood control projects were poured into the second district. Records show that MG Samidan Construction, a firm established in 2019 with just P250,000 in capital, bagged 11 projects worth roughly P1 billion.
Pressed for comment, regional director Ronnel Tan declined to respond and instead referred queries to a certain Boy Lubid, who said they are waiting for the results of an ongoing Senate investigation.
The supposed projects span several towns, including Agoo, Aringay, Bagulin, Bauang, Burgos, Caba, Naguilian, Pugo, Santo Tomas and Tubao.