COA: Nearly 50 Flood Control Projects Under Fraud Audit

The Commission on Audit (COA) has launched fraud audits on nearly 50 flood control projects as it continues its investigation into alleged irregularities in government infrastructure projects, with Bulacan province currently serving as its main area of focus. COA Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba disclosed this during a Senate hearing on the commission’s proposed budget for 2027. Senators had pressed the constitutional audit body on its role in investigating alleged anomalies in flood control projects. Nearly 50 projects audited Cordoba said COA began concentrating its fraud audits in Bulacan because the province accounts for a significant share of the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) flood control spending. “P98B or 18% of the total worth of flood control projects implemented by DPWH from 2022-2025 ay sa Bulacan napunta,” Cordoba said, referring to about P98 billion worth of projects, or roughly 18% of the total, implemented in the province during the period. “So doon kami nag-concentrate,” he added. Cordoba said the fraud audits remain ongoing and that the number of projects covered had reached “almost 50.” The COA chief said the commission had already issued notices of disallowance based on the conclusions of some of its fraud audits. “Naging conclusion sa fraud audit, so we issued notices of disallowance. And we already submitted this to the Office of the Ombudsman,” Cordoba said. He added that COA had also previously submitted audit findings to the now-defunct Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which investigated alleged irregularities in flood control projects. Cordoba said COA could provide the Senate with the audit reports, including information on the persons found liable in the cases. “We can submit it to the honorable finance committee. At makikita niyo ang persons liable, nandoon naman po,” he said. No link to Sen. Villanueva During the hearing, Senator Joel Villanueva asked COA about the results of its fraud audits in Bulacan and whether he had been implicated in any of the projects examined by the commission. Cordoba said COA had not found Villanueva linked to the projects it had audited. “Ano na-audit niyo?” Villanueva asked. “Wala po kami nakikita,” Cordoba replied. He clarified that COA’s findings were focused on the implementing agency, the DPWH, and its personnel in Bulacan. “It’s really the DPWH people yung nag-implement because it’s the budget of the DPWH and it’s their personnel sa Bulacan,” Cordoba said. COA says audits will continue Cordoba said the commission would continue its fraud audits and coordinate with the Office of the Ombudsman, whose investigators have been using COA personnel as witnesses in preliminary investigations and cases filed before the Sandiganbayan and regional trial courts. “We are committed to the Office of the Ombudsman,” Cordoba said, adding that COA fraud auditors have already appeared as witnesses in cases involving the alleged anomalies. He said the commission’s work would continue “until we cover them all." For now, he said, Bulacan remains COA’s principal focus because it has emerged as the “ground zero” of the flood control projects being scrutinized.—LDF, GMA News