THE Commission on Audit’s Fraud Audit Office yesterday identified four more “ghost” or non-existent flood control projects in Bulacan with a combined budget of P389.64 million.
In its update reports submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman, tagged in the second batch of Fraud Audit Reports (FARs) were private contractors Wawao Builders, with one project in Plaridel, Bulacan worth P92.64 million; and the joint venture of TopNotch Catalyst Builders Inc. and One Frame Construction Inc., with three projects in the municipalities of Pandi and Bocaue, each with identical P98.999 million project costs.
In the first audit report filed earlier this month, five projects were found anomalous, including two involving Wawao.
COA chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba said the next updates on the fraud audit of the flood control projects would no longer be submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has activated the Independent Commission for Infrastructure.
He assured the public that weekly updates on the investigation of the Fraud Audit Office will continue until completed.
In the second batch, auditors said those held liable for the uncovered irregularities in the Wawao Builders projects were Henry Alcantara, relieved district engineer of the Bulacan First District Engineering Office of the (DEO) of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); Ernesto Galang, Bids and Awards Committee chairperson; and contractor Mark Allan Arevalo.
Held liable for anomalies relative to the three projects of the TopNotch-One Frame joint venture were Alcantara, Galang, former DPWH assistant district engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez, engineers Jolo Mari Tayao, Lemuel Ephraim SD. Roque, and John Michael Ramos; Maintenance officer-in-charge Jaime Hernandez; Quality Assurance Section chief Norberto Santos; TopNotch-One Frame joint venture managing officer Gian Carlo Galang; and the company’s officers and board members.
The fraud audit team conducted site inspections on the four projects on September 10 and found numerous telltale signs of irregularities, including uncertainty of the DPWH-Bulacan First DEO on the exact project locations, ongoing work in projects that were already certified “completed,” and documentation that did not match the project site and specifications of the structures.
The Wawao Builders’ “flood control structure along Angat River, Sipat Section in the municipality of Plaridel, Bulacan was reported completed as of June 11, 2024.
“Yet during the COA’s inspection last Sept. 10, 2025, the team observed that construction was still ongoing. Historical satellite imagery as of April 7, 2025 further showed no flood control structure at the site,” the audit team said.
Auditors likewise reported that the although the project has a budget of P92.64 million, there was “utter lack of necessary supporting documents” in violation of COA Circular No. 2009-001 requiring full documentation before disbursement of public funds.
TopNotch-One Frame joint venture projects were the P98.999-million Slope Protection Structure and Waterways in Barangay Bunsuran (Purok 4), Pandi, Bulacan; the P98.999-million Construction/Improvement of Slope Protection Structure and Waterways along Bocaue River in Barangay Bambang (Sitio Pulo to Purok 6), Bocaue, Bulacan; and the P98.999-million Construction/Improvement of Slope Protection Structure and Waterways along Bocaue River in Barangay Bambang (Sitio Pulo to Purok 6), Bocaue, Bulacan.
The audit team said DPWH officials could not tell the exact location of each project from documents in their records, and identified different worksites that had no bearing on the specific project they were looking for.
“DPWH-Bulacan First DEO representatives pinpointed COA to a different project location, but the said location did not match the approved bid plan or any other plan available. COA concluded that this is another ghost project because the location pinpointed by DPWH-Bulacan First DEO representatives pertains to a different project altogether,” the auditors said of the flood control project in Pandi.
The two projects in Bocaue were found to have existed only on paper.
Auditors inspecting the project site found an existing slope protection structure weeks before the contractor was supposed to have started on April 23, 2024.
“Another project in the same barangay, also awarded to TopNotch Catalyst Builders Inc. and One Frame Construction Inc., was similarly found non-existent. The designated site already had an existing slope protection structure weeks before the official start date of April 23, 2024. During the Sept. 10, 2025 inspection, DPWH again pointed to another mismatched site,” the COA-FAO said.
It recommended investigation for possible indictment of individuals involved for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019), malversation of public funds, and falsification of public documents.
