Davao City flood control projects worth P7B awarded to single contractor, NBI reveals

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) revealed on Thursday that flood control projects worth P7 billion in Davao City, awarded between 2018 and 2024, were concentrated with a single contractor. NBI Director Melvin Matibag stated that coordination with the Commission on Audit (COA) showed the actual value of these projects to be P7 billion, exceeding the initial P1.9 billion figure. "It turns out the P1.9 billion figure we were looking at for projects obtained by a single contractor was actually insufficient," Matibag told reporters. "It turns out to be P7 billion from 2018 to 2024. So after this, we will also issue a subpoena for documents to the Commission on Audit." Matibag explained that the NBI issued a subpoena for documents to the COA as part of its intensified probe. The investigation was prompted by suspicions surrounding 51 flood control projects, including one instance where a project with identical coordinates was funded five times under different titles. "Fifty-one projects were examined, which is why we issued a subpoena for them because there is a suspicion that there are problems here. Like a specific instance where one project had the same coordinates, but it was funded five times under different titles," said Matibag. Juby Cordon, director of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region XI, appeared at the NBI headquarters on Thursday after being summoned in connection to the anomalous flood control projects in Davao City. The DPWH regional office submitted 10 boxes of documents related to the 51 flood control projects in Davao City. Last month, the Office of the Ombudsman announced it would investigate Davao City, which was considered a "flood control epicenter" prior to the current administration. However, Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte criticized Ombudsman Boying Remulla over his allegations. –Vince Angelo Ferreras/NB, GMA News