RESIGNED PUBLIC WORKS Secretary Manuel Bonoan has no right to feign innocence in the goings on in his department, which he headed beginning July 2, 2022 until the acceptance by President Marcos of his resignation on Sunday and his replacement by Transportation Secretary Vivencio ‘Vince’ Dizon.
Records of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism showed that between July 2022 and May 2025, or the first three years of Marcos, the government funded 9,855 flood control projects worth over P545 billion, with the bulk or 345 solo or joint projects worth P8.6 billion being awarded to filthy rich billionaire couple Pacifico “Curlee” II and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya, now regarded as king and queen of flood control, through their six construction companies. The PCIJ said this is three times the P8.6 billion allocated for “housing and community amenities” in the proposed 2025 budget. No other contractors came close, the Inquirer quoted PCIJ.
As head of DPWH, he should have done inspections, monitoring, checking of financial capacities of bidders and their historical dealings with DPWH and other government entities and required pre and post audits before approving the winning bid (if such biddings were even held at all).
If he did not fulfill such duties that he had sworn to protect the Filipino people and the government, then he should be charged with dereliction of duty or gross negligence. He can thus be labelled complicit to the crime.
In the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Discaya claimed these were earned through 23 years of their collaboration with the DPWH, when fact checkers proved that all their companies were 10 or 11 years old.
Recent weeks have seen massive rainfall that have caused flooding– even in erstwhile higher grounds of the metropolis– that caused a sustained public outcry and allegations of substandard work because of corruption and the pocketing of massive funds by politicians and contractors. This also caused the ire of the President prompting him to publicly shame such illegal practices with his declaration of ‘mahiya naman kayo’ in his July state of the nation address.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, anti corruption advocate, recently said as much as 60% of infrastructure funds could go to “commissions” and off-the-books payments to legislators, public works officials, auditors and others. “The pie-sharing varies depending on the level of greed,” he said.
Billionaire couple Pacifico “Curlee” II and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya can be dubbed the King and Queen of Flood Control. The six construction companies founded by the couple and their son bagged 345 solo and joint projects worth a whopping P25.2 billion pesos. That’s three times the P8.6 billion allocated for “housing and community amenities” in the proposed 2025 budget. No other contractors came close.
The PCIJ reported that contractors of government flood-control projects linked to the Discayas secured over P31-billion worth of contracts from 2022 to 2025. These Discaya-founded companies alone—namely Alpha & Omega Gen. Contractor & Development Corp., St. Timothy Construction Corporation, St. Matthew Gen. Contractor & Development Corp., Great Pacific Builders and Gen. Contractor Inc., St. Gerrard Construction Gen. Contractor & Development Corp., and Way Maker General Contractor OPC—secured P25.2 billion-worth of government contracts.
The PCIJ said three other construction firms, specifically YPR Gen. Contractor and Construction, Elite General Contractors and Development Corp., and Amethyst Horizon Builders listed Curlee as chief operating officer.
The best contractors are not necessarily the biggest ones. The 15 contractors who got the largest sums out of the flood-control contracts have checkered records.
Two are facing possible tax audits. One has a previous graft case. Another has been criticized for endangering locals. Over half of the 15 have gotten “poor” (less than 75%) or “unsatisfactory” (75–82%) marks from the Construction Performance Evaluation System (CPES), a rating system to evaluate construction companies’ performance in government projects, the PCIJ said..
A poor or unsatisfactory rating should ideally result in disqualification from future biddings, based on CPES implementing guidelines.
A blacklisted firm is automatically delisted when the period for the penalty has elapsed, unless the blacklisting agency requests the Government Procurement Policy Board to maintain the firm’s status.
CHECKERED RECORDS
Eleven of the 15 flood control contractors have checkered records, These firms got the largest budget from flood control projects marked “completed” from July 1, 2022 to May 30, 2025. Questions have been raised about the performance of 11 of them.
The Discayas’ St. Timothy (No. 6) is one of the contractors of a damaged Navotas floodgate that has failed to control flooding in the city. The company was also criticized for participating in a joint venture for the supply of election materials in the May 2025 midterm election as its founder Sarah Discaya vied for Pasig mayorship. The firm was pressured to get out from the deal at the last minute.
St. Timothy and three more Discaya firms—Alpha & Omega (No. 5), St. Matthew (No. 17), and St. Gerrard (No. 50)—were also the subjects of a Bureau of Internal Revenue tax investigation, which in 2022 was upheld by the Court of Tax Appeals. The Bureaus of Internal Revenue and Customs have recently also announced investigations into the couples’ financial records.
THE CO COMPANIES
Three companies, owned by Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Elizaldy Co., who was House chair of the appropriations committee, his brother Christopher and sister, Farida owned companies that bagged 149 flood control projects worth P15 billion between 2022 and 2025.
Sunwest was founded by Zaldy Co, Hi Tone Construction & Development Corp. by Christopher Co and sister Farida, founder/owner of FS Co Builders & Supply.
The Co-linked Sunwest and Hi-Tone have both received poor and unsatisfactory ratings, the former for the rehabilitation of a wharf in Tabaco, Albay, and the latter for upgrade of a Legazpi wharf and the construction of a road leading to Romblon airport.
The Cos’ Sunwest projects, in particular, have been found to be subpar, suspicious, or in violation of regulations, including: 1) In 2012, COA found that a road it built was short of 2,000 square meters; 2) In 2020, the Mines and GeoSciences Bureau flagged Sunwest and 14 other companies for violating quarrying permits. The agency eventually cleared them and allowed the resumption of their activities; 3) In 2021, the firm was investigated for medical supply contracts with the government during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Senators found it “suspicious” for a construction company to venture in such a deal; 4) In 2021, Sunwest entered into a contract with the Department of Education to supply laptops for teachers. In July 2025, the Ombudsman charged former top education officials for procuring overpriced and outdated laptops from Sunwest and two other firms and 5) Civil society groups in Western Visayas claimed that Sunwest’s P2.6-billion road project in the region poses risks to the biodiverse Central Panay Mountain Range.
MORE CONTRACTORS FROM PCIJ LIST
- Equi-Parco (No.9), based in Agusan del Norte and founded by former Butuan Mayor Ronnie Vicente Lagnada, has received two unsatisfactory or poor ratings.
- Legacy (no. 2), whose owner, Alex Abelido, was accused of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act over a waterworks contract with the town of Valencia, Negros Oriental in 2000 but was eventually acquitted. Legacy has the worst record among all 15 firms, with at least four poor or unsatisfactory CPES ratings.
- Road Edge Development Services (No. 14) which had three records, 4) EGB (No. 3), 5) M.G. Samidan Construction (No. 11) and 6) L.R. Tiqui Builders (No. 12) had at least one poor or unsatisfactory evaluation each. 7) Some projects of QM Builders have been embroiled in controversy, including accusations of causing a landslide, a flash flood, and displacement of locals.
Mindanao had least number, amounts of projects
The PCIJ said funding for the 10 most flood-prone provinces identified by the MGB is uneven, with Luzon provinces getting more than those in Mindanao, despite being smaller in size and in some cases, less vulnerable to floods.
Metro Manila and Bulacan enjoyed the highest funding, soaring past larger or more vulnerable areas like Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Nueva Ecija.
The fifth most vulnerable area in the country, Maguindanao del Norte and Sur, got P2.4 billion. Metro Manila, which is 16 times smaller and less flood-prone, got 20 times the two provinces’ funding.
In fact, the nation’s capital, together with Bulacan province, gobbled up 15% of the funding for flood-control structures built in the first three years of the Marcos Jr. administration. All projects in Metro Manila have a price tag of P52.5 billion, while those in Bulacan are valued at P43.7 billion. Only these two areas got funding of more than P30 billion.
Isabela and Cebu each had a budget between P20 to 30 billion. Meanwhile, 13 provinces had budgets between P10 to 20 billion: Tarlac, Camarines Sur, Albay, Pampanga, Leyte, Pangasinan, Misamis Oriental, La Union, Oriental Mindoro, Negros Occidental, Cavite, Davao del Sur, and Ilocos Norte.
The PCIJ said 64 remaining provinces had a budget of P10 million and below, while Tawi-Tawi is the only province with no listed flood-control project over the last three years.
MARCOS TO CREATE INDEPENDENT PROBE BODY
The President is finalizing an executive order creating an independent probe commission on the flood control anomalies. As an investigative arm, it will investigate whatever information is received. It will be sent to them and they will investigate it.
He said the panel would recommend the filing of complaints to the Ombudsman or the Department of Justice. The commission would recommend to the Executive what to do with certain parties who have been found to be part of all of this corruption that has been going on, not only in flood control but in all the workings within the DPWH.
He lamented: “Unfortunately, the more we look, the more we find. Kahit sa 2026 budget, marami pa ring sinigit… It really needs to be cleaned out properly.”
As to who will lead it, he said, it depends on how it is structured. But he mentioned the need for forensic investigators, lawyers, and justices as part of the committee to look into the pieces of evidence.
The commission will put together information and make the recommendation to either the DOJ or the Ombudsman, depending on who is found to be liable for some of these nefarious activities,” he said.