COA upholds refund order vs Gardiola firm over irregular Davao road project

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Audit (COA) affirmed the liability of a construction firm tied to CWS Representative Edwin Gardiola and several officials of the Davao City District Engineering Office (DEO) over an anomalous road project worth P19.28 million in Davao City in 2010.

The firm, E. Gardiola Construction, was asked to refund P15.67 million, which is the difference between the total amount paid and the reasonable project cost as determined by a COA technical evaluation team.

Securities and Exchange Commission documents show that Edwin’s brother Elmer is the incorporator of the company. Congressman Edwin, a longtime contractor himself, became a lawmaker in 2022 and has been implicated in the flood control corruption scandal since 2025.

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‘Excessiveness’

The COA en banc, in its 17-page decision released on Saturday, February 21, junked the plea of Department of Works and Public Highways–Davao City District Engineer Lorna Ricardo and other engineers to overturn the 2018 ruling of COA’s Davao Region office that upheld the notice of disallowance over the project.

“This commission sustains the audit finding of price excessiveness, as this was supported by actual canvass sheets/price quotations on identical items,” COA said.

E. Gardiola Construction bagged the deal to rehabilitate Manuel Roxas Avenue in Davao City in 2010. The project, with a contract period of 90 days, was supposedly completed in just 28 days. A payment of P18.07 million was released to the construction firm in April that year.

The special audit team, however, concluded that the project was “grossly overpriced,” since the allowable cost for it was only P3.6 million.

Inspection of the project also revealed that the materials used were rusty, while the road signs and pavements were substandard.

District Engineer Ricardo was found liable for approving the plans, as well as releasing payment to E. Gardiola Construction.

E. Gardiola Construction was among the top contractors of the Arroyo administration, reportedly bagging P2.6 billion in contracts between 2006 and 2008. It was also on COA’s 2014 list of Arroyo-era dubious contractors.

Gardiola has been the subject of the Ombudsman’s wide probe into the public works corruption scandal, and the Anti-Money Laundering Council has reportedly frozen bank accounts associated with the congressman.

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Other people found liable by COA were:

1. Assistant District Engineer Milagros delos Reyes
2. Engineer Dwight Vincent Fernandez
3. Engineer Eduardo Villar
4. Engineer Lilibeth Sarmiento
5. Estimating committee head Emilio Sucaldito
6. Construction and maintenance foreman William Paglinawan
7. Project inspector Francisco Pilapil

State auditors said the case will be referred to the Ombudsman’s office for investigation due to potential fraud in the project. – Rappler.com