By Melvin C. Gascon
Billions of pesos worth of government-funded flood control projects in Nueva Vizcaya show “troubling” patterns that point to possible bid rigging, contract splitting, and political favoritism, based on official data from sumbongsapangulo.ph.
From 2022 to 2025, at least P5.9 billion in contracts were awarded for flood control structures along the Magat, Sta. Fe, Sta. Cruz, and Marang rivers, and other waterways across the province.
A closer look at the distribution of these projects, however, reveals what observers consider “questionable trends.”
Clustered sub-P100M
Based on the website’s data, many Nueva Vizcaya flood control projects were priced just under the P100 million threshold, often clustering around P96–97 million.
Procurement experts said this could be deliberate, since projects worth P100 million or more usually face stricter bidding rules and audit reviews.
Republic Act 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act) prohibits splitting of contracts and requires competitive bidding.
Few ‘lucky’ contractors
Only a handful of construction firms dominate the flood control portfolio:
EGB Construction Corp. — P1.03 billion
Dalcon Construction — P939 million
BRG Construction — P785 million
AMP 723 Construction — P721 million
V.B. Manubay Construction — P581 million
Observers warn that the repeated awarding of projects to the same contractors could indicate favoritism or collusion, limiting fair competition.
JVs scheme of choice
Joint ventures (JVs) appeared frequently, especially those involving AMP 723 and Dalcon.
While legal, JVs are sometimes used to divide projects among the same circle of contractors through pre-arranged deals.
Patterns
In Aritao town, AMP 723 won five flood control contracts in the same period.
Instead of consolidating these into a single project, the contracts were split up, which critics say inflates administrative costs and weakens accountability.
Multiple contracts
Both EGB Construction and Dalcon secured multiple projects in 2024 alone. Analysts question whether these firms have the capacity to complete all projects simultaneously.
DPWH sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said construction firms with ties to politicians have been “renting” EGB and Dalcon’s licenses for local projects administered within the province.
Small players, big deals
Some relatively small firms also landed huge projects, including Industrial Controls Corp. (P129 million) and Road Edge Trading (P96.5 million).
Procurement observers say this could indicate the presence of “dummy firms” tied to political connections.
Rounded project costs
Several projects carried suspiciously rounded figures such as P49 million, P96.5 million, and P144.75 million.
At least 15 projects had amounts of exactly P49,000,000 as cost.
Sources noted that such exact figures rarely come up in genuine construction estimates, suggesting that costs may have been engineered to fit budget caps.
Warning Signs
Analysts say these patterns are classic warning signs of bid rigging, contract splitting, and political favoritism in government infrastructure spending.
The latest revelation comes on the heels of the discoveries by President Marcos Jr. after he personally inspected a P55 million flood control project in Baliwag City, Bulacan.
The President said he was “very angry” that the projects, described in records as completed and paid, but turned out to be “ghost projects” or non-existent.
Crackdown
On Sept. 1, newly-installed DPWH acting Sec. Vince Dizon ordered all officials in his agency to tender their courtesy resignation to allow for a “top-to-bottom” revamp.
He also vowed to permanently blacklist contractors involved in substandard or ghost projects. #