Boxes of records brought to COA-QC under police escort
THE Commission on Audit-Fraud Audit Office (COA-FAO) yesterday secured the first batch of documents pertaining to Bulacan flood-control projects from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to kick off its review of the related transactions.
A COA bus fetched boxes of documents from the DPWH-Bulacan First Engineering District in Malolos, Bulacan yesterday morning and transported them to the COA Central Office in Quezon City under police escort.
The retrieval follows a memorandum issued by COA Chairman Gamaliel A. Cordoba on Aug. 12, 2025 declaring a fraud audit an “immediate and unequivocal necessity” in light of directives from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to review flood control contracts cornered by 15 biggest contractors, particularly in Bulacan province.
During his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28, Marcos acknowledged persistent flooding across the country despite substantial investments, including P44 billion poured into flood control projects in Bulacan, which accounts for the biggest chunk of funding in Central Luzon (Region 3) at 45 percent.
Central Luzon as a whole received P98 billion in flood control funding between July 1, 2022 and May 30, 2025, representing 18 percent of the total P548 billion nationwide allocation for the period.
Cordoba’s memorandum, addressed to supervising auditors and audit team leaders at Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) District Engineering Offices in Region 3, called for the immediate submission of “all relevant documents in your custody necessary for the conduct of the fraud audit,” and mandated that audit officials ensure their availability to assist the fraud audit teams.
Marcos earlier asked COA to investigate alleged anomalies in the government’s flood control programs,
The President himself made an onsite inspection of an unfinished river protection project in Calumpit, Bulacan, which was officially declared completed.
The special audit of flood control projects hopes to identify contracts attended by fraud, waste, and mismanagement and to pin accountability of government officials and contractors responsible.
