The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has clarified its plan to hold contractors involved in the anomalous flood control projects legally and financially accountable—possibly amounting to billions of pesos in penalties.
In an interview with veteran broadcaster Ted Failon on Monday, October 6, DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said the agency has a solid legal basis to pursue cases and recover public funds lost to fraudulent practices.
“Ganito po, ang sabi ko nga po no’ng ako ay mag-press conference noong Biyernes, no’ng nag-file kami ng unang mga kaso sa PCC [Philippine Competition Commission], we will throw everything, sa libro, sa mga contractor na ito para lang mapanagot sila [at] mabawi natin ang pondo. So, ‘yon po ang pinaka importante,” said Dizon.
Dizon shared that the idea came from Senator Bam Aquino, who earlier raised the use of the Philippine Competition Act as a tool to impose penalties on firms proven to have engaged in bid rigging in government projects.
“Nakuha po natin ang ideya na ito kay Sen. Bam Aquino a few weeks ago noong ako po’y umattend sa Blue Ribbon. Under the Philippine Competition Act, puwede pong mag-impose ng penalty ang PCC kapag merong pruweba ng bid rigging sa mga government contract,” he explained.
According to Dizon, each offense could carry a maximum penalty of ₱250 million, depending on the number of contracts involved.
“Ito po ay kaso laban sa mga contractor at bawat offense po, puwedeng maximum 250 million [pesos]. At ang pagkakaintindi po namin sa offense ay bawat kontrata o bawat projects,” he added.
The DPWH has already filed its first batch of cases against 12 contractors in Bulacan, with investigations ongoing for other provinces. Dizon expressed optimism that the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) would act swiftly on the matter.
“‘Yon po ang gagawin namin. Nagsimula po tayo sa labindalawa, ito po ‘yong ni-file namin sa Bulacan at tuloy-tuloy po tayo dito. Kapag mayroon po tayong in-up na ebidensya against contractor po [sa] bid rigging, fi-file-lan po natin sila at umaasa po tayo na mabilis pong aaksyunan ng PCC ito,” he said.
Dizon identified the companies owned by couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya, as well as Wawao Company and Sunwest Company, as among those facing penalties.
He earlier revealed that the Discaya group had secured a total of 1,214 flood control projects worth roughly ₱77.9 billion from 2016 to 2025.
“1,214 flood control projects of Discaya from 2016 to 2025. It’s roughly close to ₱80 billion (₱77.934 billion),” Dizon said.
“So yari sila, mas malaki pa pala yung penalty nila (₱300 bilyon) doon sa contract amount na ‘yan. The maximum penalty is ₱250 million per contract. But I guess, that depends on how much the contract is,” he added.
The DPWH said it remains firm in its stance to pursue accountability and recover public funds, emphasizing that bid rigging and corruption will not go unpunished.