WHAT ARE WE in power for, is one adage, that former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, had applied upon acquiring the powerful seat in Malacañang and awarding an P11.1 billion contract for infrastructure projects to his favorite cousin, Carlos “Charlie” Gonzales.
A story of Politiko on August 19, said Gonzales’ company, Ulticon Builders Inc, which was identified through posts on Reddit and an Instagram photo, bagged the P11.1-billion worth of contracts between July 2016 (the month Duterte assumed the presidency) and December 2017, said data from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).
The secretary of DPWH in July 2016 was Rafael Yabut (June 2016 to July 31, 2016) and Mark Aguilar Villar was appointed by Duterte in August, where he served until 2021 until he was appointed COVID-19 pandemic isolation czar from 2020 to 2021. He was a representative of Las Pinas from 2010 to 2016.
The controversy comes amid a broader Senate probe into flood control projects, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. named 15 contractors that cornered the bulk of ₱545 billion in flood control funds from 2022 to 2025.
NOT IN THE LIST
Ulticon, however, isn’t part of the list.
Davao-based Ulticon Builders Inc., owned by brothers, Carlos “Charlie” and Engr. Raul “Sonny,” was established in 1993 as a general construction business focused on construction, repair, rehabilitation and other works on roads and bridges, highways, piers, irrigation projects and building construction.
It had its focus on infra development, which it deemed vital to the socio economic development of the country, mostly in less developed provinces of Mindanao.
Noted for its prompt completion and high standard, its major project was the Cateel-Compostela Diversion Road, a 37-km with two bailey bridges that cut travel time from Davao City to Cateel Davao Oriental– a known NPA haven, by three hours.
Its current machineries and equipment pool has a base level construction capability ranging from P1 to P3 billion per construction per year.