In the wake of the corruption scandal plaguing government’s flood control projects, Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque has moved to hold accountable erring members of the Philippine Contractors
In the wake of the corruption scandal plaguing government’s flood control projects, Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque has moved to hold accountable erring members of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB), whose integrity has been called into serious question due to alleged conflicts of interest, accreditation irregularities, and potential abuse of authority.
Roque ordered the formation of a fact-finding team to conduct “a comprehensive investigation” into the body mandated to accredit contractors for both private and public projects. “This is about ensuring accountability and transparency,” declared Roque, who chairs the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP).
CIAP is an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that is tasked to regulate and oversee the construction industry. Its implementing boards include the PCAB, which issues, suspends and revokes licenses to ensure that only qualified and reputable contractors can operate in the country.
This was prompted by the exposé of Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who revealed last week that two of the three members of the PCAB board had construction companies that bagged government contracts while they were in office, a case of conflict of interest.
Lacson said that EGB Construction Corp., owned by PCAB member Erni Baggao, who was reappointed to the PCAB in 2023, was one of the 15 contractors earlier singled out by President Marcos for having cornered the bulk of the country’s, billion-peso flood control projects from 2022 to 2025.
