The Land Transportation Office (LTO) will turn over evidence on three alleged “white elephant” projects—multimillion-peso facilities with questionable costs—to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), LTO Chief Markus Lacanilao said on Tuesday.
In a television interview, Lacanilao said the evidence was complete and ready for submission.
“Nagulat ako na sobra-sobra, sir… kasi marunong naman akong gumawa (ng building). In fact, kumpleto na ‘yung mga ebidensya ko sa kanila. Ready to submit na po ako sa ICI,” he said.
The disclosure follows his revelation that two three-story LTO buildings completed in 2024 were built by Sunwest Construction and Development Corp., founded by former Ako Bicol Partylist Representative Zaldy Co, and allegedly funded by 2021 budget insertions.
“Magugulat kayo, three-story building, walang elevator, hindi kasama ang lote. Almost ₱500 million each,” Lacanilao said. He noted the cost surged to nearly ₱400,000 per square meter, calling it “super overpriced” compared to typical rates of around ₱20,000 per square meter.
He also flagged a separate command center project worth roughly ₱946 million, also implemented by Sunwest, noting that “noon pa namamayagpag ‘yan si Zaldy Co. Marami siyang mga proyekto sa iba’t ibang ahensya ng gobyerno.”