- Blacklists Wawao and affilliates
- Terminates DPWH engineers involved
- PCAB revokes licenses of Discaya firms
At the rate Department of Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon is going, it is not farfetched that his probe into the ghosts and substandard flood control projects has already started in Visayas and Mindanao.
Sources who begged not to be identified, disclosed that there are indications that information gathering activities are already ongoing prior to formal investigation.
These also stemmed from what had been established that no less than 15 big contractors earlier identified by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee are the same firms engaged by Regional and District Engineers in other parts of the country. The 15 contractors include:
- Legacy Construction Corporation
- Alpha & Omega Gen. Contractor & Development Corp.
- St. Timothy Construction Corporation
- QM Builders
- EGB Construction Corporation
- Topnotch Catalyst Builders, Inc.
- Centroways Construction and Development, Inc.
- Sunwest, Inc.
- Hi-Tone Construction & Development Corp.
- Triple 8 Construction & Supply, Inc.
- Royal Crown Monarch Construction & Supplies Corp.
- Wawao Builders
- MG Samiadin Construction
- L.R. Tiujil Builders, Inc.
- Road Edge Trading & Development Services
Also mentioned by Senator Marcoleta but not on the list is R. A. Pahati Construction and Supply which is based in Nueva Ecija.
The most controversial contractor is Cezarah Discaya who own nine construction firms that includes:
-St. Gerrard Construction General Contractor and Development Corp.
-Alpha and Omega General Contractor And Development Corp.
-St. Timothy Construction Corp.
-Amethyst Horizon Builders and General Contractor and Development Corp.
-St. Matthew General Contractor and Development Corp.
-Great Pacific Builders and General Contractor Inc.
-YPR General Contractor and Construction Supply Inc.
-Way Maker OPC, and
-Elite General Contractor And Development Corp.
Last week Wawao Builders and affilliates owned by Mark Allan Arevalo had been blacklisted on orders of Secretary Dizon following confirmation that the firm had collected ₱96.5-million from ghost flood control project in Plaridel, Bulacan.
Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara was likewise dismissed on the spot. Dismissal proceedings be carried out as well to district engineers Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza, who were identified by Secretary Dizon as among the signatories in the ‘ghost’ project he inspected.
Also last week the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) revoked the licenses of the nine companies owned or controlled by Discaya.
Discaya, according to PCAB cornered more than P30 billion in government flood control contracts over a three-year period starting 2022.
There are talks that Discaya construction firms and R. A. Pahati Construction and Supply Co. have been awarded flood control projects in Davao Occidental , Davao de Oro and Davao del Norte. However these have yet to be officially confimed as local officials and municipal officials refused to talk for reasons the refused to explain.
Meanwhile, despite the progress and investigation results achieved by the Blue Ribbon Committee and by DPWH Secretary Dizon, Senators Kiko Pangilinan and Tito Sotto insist on creating a special investigation commission.
