INDEED, HEALTH IS wealth, especially for the Baggao brothers who have made quite a fortune at the Department of Health (DOH).
In a story which first appeared in Rappler, the brother of DOH Usec. Glenn Mathew Baggao reportedly cornered five health infrastructure projects amounting to P141 million.
Erni Baggao, the supposed owner of EGB Construction cornered five health infrastructure projects with the help of his brother Glenn Mathew who is also involved in health infrastructure.
“Barely a year after Glenn Mathew Baggao was appointed undersecretary of the DOH under the Marcos administration, his brother had won five multimillion-peso health infrastructure projects, raising the issue of conflict of interest,” reads part of the Rappler report.
In 2025 alone, EGB Construction was awarded contracts to build super health centers and district hospitals with a combined value of P140.99 million.
Baggao, who hails from Isabela, was appointed as DOH Undersecretary for the Public Health Services Cluster in 2024, the same year he received the Civil Service Commission’s Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award.
His brother’s EGB Construction first gained national attention when the President in August 2025 announced that it was among the 15 contractors that had cornered most flood control projects across the country.
During a Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on September 18, 2025, Senator Erwin Tulfo accused Erni of being the real owner of Wawao Builders, a firm behind several alleged ghost flood control projects in Bulacan. Erni denied the allegation.
With the flood control issue under probe, EGB ventured into health infrastructure, securing five health infrastructure projects worth P140.99 million in 2025 — three from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and two from the Isabela provincial government.
5 CONTRACTS IN 2025
The company secured five projects in different regions– three from the Department of Public Works and Highways and two from the Isabela LGU.
The first project worth P5.96 million involved the Moconacon Super Health Center, which DPWH awarded under Fiscal Year 2024 Health Facilities Enhancement Project, located in the remote eastern coast of Isabela, Rappler said.
The second, worth P11.93 million was the Divilacan Super Health Center just south of the same coastline.
The third was the Oriental Mindoro Central District Hospital worth P63.14 million, expanding outside their bailiwick.
The fourth worth P29.98 million was for the improvement of Manuel A. Roxas District Hospital, awarded by the Isabela provincial government.
And the fifth worth P29.98 million is for the Echague District Hospital also awarded to EGB by the Isabela provincial government.
RISE TO PROMINENCE
In 2025, Baggao was reassigned from Usec for Public Health Services cluster to Usec for the Universal Health Care-Health Services Cluster, overseeing northern, central and southern Luzon, placing him in charge of areas where several EGB health infra projects are located.
The UHS-HSC implements the health sector’s 8-point action agenda through regional health centers in coordination with LGUs, civil society groups and other government agencies.
In 2026, Usec Baggao was also appointed as head of the Health Facilities Enhancement Program Management Office tasked with developing, implementing and monitoring plans, policies and strategies for capital outlay investments like infrastructure, equipment and transport for government health facilities, as spelled out by DoH DO No. 2019-0082.
It also provides technical assistance to stakeholders and conducts national monitoring and evaluation of HFEP projects.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Rappler quoted lawyer Eirene Jhone Aguila, a good governance advocate, that although a public official may not head the procuring entity, he can influence the decision of the institution. “Sometimes, there are overlapping shared functions. They blur the lines, Rappler quoted her saying.
Aguila explained that while the anti graft law prohibits conflict of interest, it is limited to contracts where the public official “intervenes or takes part in his/her official capacity.”
The law says conflict of interest arises “when a public official or employee is a member of a board, an officer, or a substantial stockholder of a private corporation or owner or has substantial interest in a business, and the interest of such corporation or business or his rights or duties therein may be opposed to or affected by the faithful performance of official duty.”
DONE THAT BEFORE
The Usec Glenn Mathew had been into local health-related projects before he joined the DoH. Prior to his appointment as Usec, he was chief of the government-owned tertiary hospital Cagayan Valley Medical Center starting in 2018 and was also chief of medical facilities in Isabela and CAR.
Rappler said that during Baggao’s sting in Cagayan, EGB was awarded at least six contracts with the DPWH for constructing health facilities worth P408 million.
While chief of CVMC from 2018 onward, EGB – in joint ventures – won DPWH health facility contracts across Northern Luzon and beyond.
The list includes P88.199 million Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center Satellite Hospital in joint venture with Solid North Construction in Candon City, Ilocos Sur; and that of the P96.5-M New Cavite Naval Hospital (Level 1) in joint venture with Arconic Inc.
The list also included P96.5-M Mariveles Mental Wellness and General Hospital in Bataan with MEP Construction; P96.521 million completion for Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center in Ilocos Sur in tandem with North Tech Builders; P28.91-M COVID facility in Tuguegarao City (awarded through a negotiated procurement under a MOA between Baggao and DPWH Cagayan Valley; and P1.44-M Alibago Rural Health Unit and Birthing Center in Tuguegarao City, its smallest satellite completion project.
On September 14, 2020, as CVMC chief, Baggao was involved in the P28-M project for medical facilities for COVID-19 patients and health workers with the DPWH Cagayan Valley, represented by Loreta Malaluan because of the existing emergency health situation.
POLITICONTRACTORS
Rappler cited EGB links with politicontractor families in Northern Luzon, including the Salazar-Guillen clan of Piddig, Ilocos Norte and the Diaz family of Ilagan City, Isabela.
EGB partnered with Solid North Construction and North Tech Builders and Construction Supply in the construction of the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center Satellite Hospital in Candon City, Ilocos Sur.
Solid North Construction is owned by John Patrick Salazar, a municipal councilor in Piddig, Ilocos Norte. North Tech Builders, meanwhile, is owned by his parents, Piddig Vice Mayor Edwin Salazar and Maribeth Salazar.
The Salazar family is also linked to several Ilocos Norte politicians who themselves operate construction firms.
Edwin’s sister, Piddig Mayor Georgina Guillen, owns Springold Construction & Trading. Her husband, National Irrigation Administration (NIA) chief Eddie Guillen, previously owned Eddie G. Guillen Builders.
Their children, who are also elected officials, run construction businesses as well.
Rappler also earlier reported that EGB Construction entered into a joint venture with Dragon Twelve Builders & Construction Supply, a firm owned by Jonathan L. Diaz, brother of Ilagan City Mayor Jay Diaz.
In 2023, the two companies also donated motorcycles during the Christmas party of the Isabela provincial government. Both EGB and Dragon Twelve won contracts from the Isabela provincial government.
ERNI BAGGAO UPCLOSE
Erni was elected for a three year term as board member of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board in September 2023. PCAB is responsible for issuing or revoking licenses of contractors.
Erni also serves as the general manager of Isabela Electric Cooperative II, the power provider in the northern half of the province.
In the Senate blue ribbon committee’s investigation into flood control projects, Senator Panfilo Lacson also previously flagged Erni’s role in PCAB as a potential conflict of interest.
“Under Section 7 of RA 6713, public officials during their incumbency shall not own, control, or manage any private enterprise regulated or licensed by their office; nor engage in the private practice of their profession,” Lacson said.
Erni stepped down from PCAB in September 2025 at the height of the flood control scandal investigation, for which Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina Roque banned PCAB members from owning construction companies.
THE OTHER BAGGAO
Meanwhile, Usec. Baggao, along with Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and two other health officials, is also facing allegations of bid rigging.
Last March 6, a complaint was filed with the Office of the Ombudsman over the procurement of P1.8 billion worth of primary care facilities.
Baggao is not the first undersecretary to be linked to a government contractor. In December 2025, Rappler reported that the company owned by Justice Undersecretary Jojo Cadiz’s young son won multimillion-peso infrastructure projects in Ilocos Norte.
Other Marcos appointees from Ilocos — including former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan and NIA chief Eddie Guillen — were also linked to the infrastructure corruption controversy.