The Commission on Audit (COA) has directed its Technical Services Office to launch an immediate inspection of all flood control projects in Bulacan, prioritizing those with the highest contract costs.
In a memorandum dated August 20, COA Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba instructed the office to “designate technical personnel for the immediate conduct of technical inspections of all ongoing and completed flood control projects” in Bulacan covering January 1, 2022, to July 31, 2025.
“The inspections should prioritize projects based on contract cost starting with the highest-valued projects,” the memo stated.
Cordoba specifically ordered Director IV Flora Ruiz of the Technical Services Office Systems and Technical Services Sector to mobilize personnel for the probe.
The inspection teams are tasked to verify and document the physical existence and status of projects, as well as check their compliance with design and specifications. State auditors must also compare the actual progress of construction against the approved work program and timeline.
COA emphasized that all inspections should be backed by video evidence and geo-tagged photos.
The technical teams are required to submit their findings directly to the overall team supervisor of the Fraud Audit Teams formed under COA Office Order No. 2025-807. Each report must detail deficiencies, irregularities, and other issues uncovered during inspections.
The order comes after COA’s Fraud Audit Office retrieved the first batch of crucial documents last week as part of its ongoing investigation into Bulacan’s flood control projects.