COA flags P344M flood control projects in Bulacan for systemic irregularities

State auditors from the Commission on Audit (COA) have flagged four flood control projects in Bulacan amounting to over P344 million due to systemic irregularities.

The COA filed four additional fraud audit reports (FARs) with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), recommending graft, malversation, and falsification raps against former Bulacan district engineers Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez, and several others.

These irregularities include the discovery of ghost structures and projects built on mismatched sites.

Two projects cited include a P74-million riverbank protection project by SYMS Construction Trading, where COA said no structure was built at the approved site, and a P96 million project by M3 Konstract Corp., where the commission found an existing structure with multiple defects and cracks.

The audit also flagged a P96-million riverbank protection project by Elite General Contractor & Development Corp., noting that satellite images showed an existing structure built at the approved site after the project's award, and that the flood control structure was split into two sections, contrary to the contract.

The flagged projects were riverbank protection initiatives undertaken by SYMS Construction Trading, M3 Konstract Corporation, and Elite General Contractor & Development Corp., with contract amounts ranging from P74.15 million to P96.50 million.