THE MAN OF the hour — Secretary Vince Dizon — has suddenly found unlikely whistleblowers in his search for infrastructure irregularities across the archipelago.
In a story which first appeared on the Bilyonaryo news portal, a French-Filipino businessman by the name of Christophe Bariou and celebrity actress Nadine Lustre urged Dizon to consider looking into Siargao where crooks in the guise of public works are “breeding graft” in cahoots with local politicians.
“I respectfully call on Secretary Vince Dizon of the DPWH, whose ongoing efforts to address corruption seem genuine, as well as on every national agency investigating the misuse of public funds, to include Siargao Island among their priorities for review and reform,” Bariou said.
ENDURING HARASSMENT
Bariou, who has lived on the island for 11 years, said he decided to break his silence after enduring years of harassment, intimidation, and alleged extortion attempts from local politicians.
According to him, behind the beautiful island beauty lies a mystery, which if investigated would drag prominent families.
“Everyone accountable must be investigated and exposed if found guilty.”
He said corruption has long undermined Siargao’s development, environment, and people’s welfare — “Siargao deserves accountability… Silence only helps the guilty,” Bariou added.
UNION-MALINAO BRIDGE
Barrio recounted how he and actress Nadine Lustre opposed the Union-Malinao Bridge project, which he claimed had falsified approval documents and lacked the legally-required environmental impact assessment.
Amid red flags, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was forced to step in — and eventually stopped the project over environmental and procedural violations.
“Before the elections, individuals claiming to represent certain politicians approached Nadine and me, offering to ‘resolve’ the bridge issue if we provided P50 million in cash,” Bariou averred.
“When that obviously failed, they proposed, ‘join us and support us during these local elections and maybe we can sit down and talk about the bridge.”
He said their refusal led to waves of harassment, including random business inspections, delayed permits, and unauthorized soil testing on his property. “My business permit renewal was unlawfully put on hold.”
UNDERCOVER PROBE
“When ARTA (Anti Red Tape Authority) investigated further and sent hidden agents on site, investigators from Manila were shocked by the level of violations, lawlessness, and absence of due process rampant here.”
Bariou said that during the 2021 Typhoon Odette’s aftermath, relief goods were allegedly diverted and repackaged for political purposes, while logging operators from outside the island were given special permits to exploit locals and harvest remaining trees.
“I am disgusted by the cycle of corruption, political bullying, both online and offline, and vote-buying funded by public money,” an obviously pissed off Baiou sighed.
“For decades, these acts have rigged local elections, compromised the future of an entire generation, and damaged the environment.”
He ended his post with a direct appeal for justice and reform. “No Filipino, especially those most vulnerable, should live in fear of speaking out or demanding accountability from those they elect and trust to serve them.”
NOT JUST SIARGAO
In Biliran, one of the country’s smallest and newest provinces in Eastern Visayas, Vice Gov. Roselyn Espina-Paras owns percent of the Roving Premier Contractors Inc., which she co-founded. She has been in public office since 2022.
Roving Premier Contractors Inc. has bagged P1.03 billion in DPWH projects since 2020, all of them in Biliran. That amount represents 45 contracts, 44 of which were awarded to the company by the lone district engineering office of Biliran.
Another project that went to Roving Premier was funded by the Region 8 office. Roving Premier, meanwhile, exclusively oversees public works projects in Biliran.
Three construction firms have secured slightly higher contract values than Roving Premier in Biliran, but all are based outside the province and have established good business in other parts of Eastern Visayas.
Except 2007 to 2010, Biliran has been represented in Congress since 1995 by the Espinas. Since 2019, Roselyn’s brother, Gerardo Espina Jr., then vice chair of the appropriations committee.
Rappler has repeatedly reached out to Vice Governor Espina-Paras via her Facebook account, Rep. Espina via his office-provided email address, and Roving Premier via its SEC-listed email address. Interestingly, not one responded.
NO OUTSIDERS ALLOWED
Roving Premier has total assets worth P112 million as of August this year and began bagging contracts with DPWH in 2020.
In its first year, it won P105 million worth of projects, its biggest year so far was in 2022, when it got P350 million in projects. That year also coincided with elections.
For the first eight months of 2025, Roving Premier obtained P281 million contracts, with 38 of 45 contracts related to flood control and the rest are road projects.
Roving Premier holds a category B license with the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board, valid until July 2026 that allows it to undertake projects with contract costs of up to P150 million. Its license rating means the company has met the minimum net worth of P10 million, and has completed a single project valued up to P75 million.
Out of its 45 projects, the biggest is a flood control structure in Biliran town in joint venture with EZJones Construction. Roving’s largest project without a partner is the construction of another flood control structure along the Biliran circumferential road in the capital town of Naval.
Based on the DPWH’s online tracker, eight projects are still tagged as ongoing even though the deadline for completion has already lapsed.
TIGHT FAMILY FIRM
Based on the Articles of Incorporation filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Roving Premier has five incorporators, essentially the founders of the company.
- Vice Governor Roselyn Espina-Paras
- Irving Doyle Paras, husband of the Vice Governor
- Asuncion J. Espina, mother of the Vice Governor
- Bernaldita Paras
- Mierven Daniel
As of August 2025, the owners are the following, based on the company’s General Information Sheet filed with the SEC: Vice Governor Espina-Paras – owning 40 percent, her husband Irving Doyle Paras, son Jose Antonio E. Paras, Jose Gerardo Ong and Jacqueline Rose E. Paras with 15 percent apiece.
Prior to her position as vice governor, Roselyn was a provincial board member from 2022 to 2025. She did not divest her shares in Roving Premier for the duration of her term. Her clan is deeply embedded in the political fabric of Biliran.
AN ESPINA EMPIRE
Her siblings are also occupying elective positions in the province — Gerardo “Gerryboy” Jr. is congressman, and Rogelio “Roger” Espina is the incumbent governor.
Their other sibling Rudy Espina is mayor of Kawayan town, with his son Jake Espina as his vice mayor.
Governor Espina’s daughter Gretchen is the incumbent mayor of Naval, Biliran. The Vice Governor’s son, Jose Antonio “Anton” Paras, still president of Roving Premier as of its latest filing, is a councilor in the same municipality.
The scandal has ignited interest in conflicts of interest, which the law says, public officials should avoid.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has identified as a priority measure a bill that disqualifies relatives of government officials up to the fourth degree of consanguinity from participating in the bidding of government projects.