Ombudsman urged to probe Davao flood control projects

CEBU, Philippines – House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio asked Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday, May 19 to conduct an investigation into flood control projects in Davao.

This followed recent reports of flash floods that hit multiple areas in the Davao Region, most especially in Davao City, on Monday, May 18.

“After thoroughly studying 121 flood control projects along the Davao and Matina Rivers from 2019 to 2022, we have red-flagged at least 80 contracts amounting to P4.44 billion,” Tinio said.

According to Tinio, the following irregularities were observed in the contracts:

• Total Overlap (P135M): Two contracts funded construction on identical river sections, suggesting ghost projects or double payment;
• Double Funding (P115M): The same project appeared twice in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2020 and was awarded to two different contractors;
• Location Change and Shortchanging (P425M): Eight projects were built at different locations with significantly shorter lengths than appropriated, yet contractors received nearly full payment;
• Contracts Without Specifications (P3.56B): Sixty-five contracts lacked station numbers or defined lengths, making verification impossible and enabling ghost projects;
• No GAA Authorization (P623M): Ten contracts had no corresponding line item in the GAA, representing potentially illegal expenditures;
• Incomplete Projects (P713M): Ten contracts remained incomplete years after their expiry dates—three are paradoxically tagged “100% complete” yet still “On-Going,” while one project (Matina Pangi Bridge 3) is only 64% complete after five years; and
• Congressional Insertions: 49 of the 80 red-flagged contracts are congressional insertions, all concentrated in Davao City’s 1st legislative district.

“The top contractor, Genesis88 Construction Inc., received 10 contracts worth P713 million and has documented ties to the previous administration. The top five contractors alone account for 53% of all red-flagged contract values,” Tinio added.

In a separate interview with reporters, Tinio said that they previously brought the complaint to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) in 2025 but no action was taken as the agency ended operations in March 2026.

Tinio hoped that the Ombudsman would take action after they turned over relevant documents to the latter’s office.

Ties to Duterte

Rappler previously investigated Genesis88 Construction’s links to former president Rodrigo Duterte and learned that the company was owned by Duterte-time presidential assistant for sports Glenn Escandor. 

Documents showed that Genesis88 bagged almost P2.9-billion worth of contracts for flood control infrastructure from 2021 to 2023, based on figures available on the Sumbong sa Pangulo website. Based on Rappler’s count, 35 out of 136 flood control projects or 1 in 4 flood control projects in the Dutertes’ turf were awarded to Genesis88. 

Rappler also discovered that Escandor had donated P19.923 million for ads in Sara Duterte’s vice-presidential campaign in the 2022 elections.

The years 2021 to 2023 coincided with the time when Duterte was president and his eldest son, Paolo, was representative of Davao City’s 1st District — a position he still carries under the current 20th Congress.

In response to Tinio’s filing of the complaint, Paolo refuted the ACT Teachers representative’s claims of irregularities with flood control projects, especially those under Duterte’s jurisdiction.

Duterte questioned why Tinio was not filing complaints against engineers, contractors, and political personalities linked to questionable flood control projects nationwide.

The Davao City 1st District representative argued that the records of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the Davao Region maintained that infrastructure projects in Davao City from 2020 to 2022 worth around P49.84 billion had been completed and were above-standard. – Rappler.com