THE project cost of the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) has ballooned a whopping 88 percent to P4.7 billion, or nearly twice the P2.5 billion that was originally approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
This was revealed by the Commission on Audit in a 102-page Performance Audit Report released on June 30, 2025.
The bigger problem, however, is the absence of any explanation for the P2.2 billion increase or the lack of a documented breakdown that would show what caused the cost to surge.
“The project cost surged from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)-approved P2.5 billion to P4.7 billion. Critically, these increased costs lacked proper justification and comprehensive documentation, raising concerns about their necessity and value, and impeding verification of cost overruns,” the audit team said.
A copy of the COA special report was submitted to the office of Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Vince Dizon on June 17, 2025.
The concession agreement between the DOTr and concessionaire MWM Terminals Inc. was signed on April 24, 2015 which stated that the project will be undertaken on a build-transfer-and-operate (BTO) arrangement under a Public-Private Partnership scheme.
Specifically, the DOTr contracted MWM Terminals, Inc. to construct the PITX Terminal on a turn-key basis. Upon completion, the facility’s title is transferred to the DOTr, while MWM Terminals, Inc. operates and maintains it for 35 years.
Auditors pointed out that the legal foundation for PPP projects in the Philippines is Republic Act No. 6957, as amended by RA No. 7718 also known as the Build-Operate-and-Transfer (BOT) Law.
“Based on the review of the available documents, the NTP (notice to proceed) was issued on October 17, 2016, and the project was supposed to be completed by April 17, 2018. However, MWM Terminals, Inc. achieved only 82.34 percent accomplishment by April 28, 2018,” the audit team said.
While still incomplete, a Provisional Acceptance Certificate was issued on November 8, 2018 even if several aspects, including the access roads and Lot 2 of the development of the Staging Area have not been finished.
Records showed the PITX terminal building and its support infrastructure were only completed on October 24, 2019 – a year and a half behind schedule.
The COA said MWM Terminals Inc. has been called out for deviations from the construction schedule, implementing unapproved design changes, and non-submission of detailed work program which were tagged as contributory to project delays.
While the concessionaire acknowledged the unsubmitted documentary requirements it also raised several concerns with the DOTr, including the government commitment to the route of provincial and city buses, guarantee of access points from Cavitex to PITX Terminal, access to staging area, and the presence of informal settler families (ISFs) in the project site which is blamed for disruptions and slowdown of work.
In DOTr’s 2023 audit, the agency listed the PITX Service Concession under the Asset-Building and Other Structures Account at a value of P4.7 billion. This was based on the DOTr Project Briefer attached in the Journal Entry Voucher No. RA22-12-03634 dated December 9, 2022.
The amount triggered red flags because nobody seems to have a bead on just where the figure came from and what it was based on.
“The audit noted that the project cost increased significantly from the NEDA-approved cost of P2.5 billion to P4.7 billion without any approved variation orders to justify the added work and expenses,” auditors said.
Asked for a breakdown, the DOTr submitted to the audit team a letter from the MWM Terminals Inc. showing that P2.5 billion was designated for the “construction of the integrated bus terminal” while the P2.2 billion was for the “construction of the commercial buildings.”
“We requested the original plan, detailed design changes, and any approved variation order to substantiate any changes that led to the significant increase in the project cost. However, DOTr-RTI (Road Transport and Infrastructure) is still requesting the necessary documents to support the recording of the cost of the project asset with DOTr-Administration and Finance. Hence, we are still unable to determine the validity of the project costs,” the audit team said.
Verification with the Public-Private Partnership Center revealed there was no record whatsoever of any contract variations about the PITX based on the certification of its Project Management Division.
“To identify the reason or cause for the increase in the project cost, we inquired with the DOTr if such increase is attributable to the design/architectural change … and has approval from the IC (independent consultant) or any approving body from the DOTr. As far as DOTr-RTI is concerned, they are unable to provide a response/clarification regarding this matter,” the COA said.