Candaba flood control projects face NBI probe over P1.4B contracts

MANILA, Philippines — Residents of Candaba, Pampanga on Friday asked the National Bureau of Investigation to probe alleged irregularities involving P1.4 billion in flood control projects in their town, including contracts reportedly awarded to firms linked to Mayor Rene Maglanque. A group of 14 residents, represented by lawyer Faye Singson and accompanied by former Candaba mayor Jerry Pelayo, filed the complaint before the NBI’s Organized and Transnational Crimes Division. The complaint seeks an investigation into the dealings of Sto. Cristo Construction & Trading and Globalcrete Builders Inc., which allegedly secured a combined P5.4 billion worth of government contracts from 2022 to 2025. Of this amount, Sto. Cristo allegedly cornered P1.4 billion in flood control projects in Candaba alone, according to the complainants. The residents also asked the NBI to examine the reported transfer of P753.3 million from Sto. Cristo to Globalcrete and determine the reason for the transaction and whether it was connected to legitimate construction activities. They also questioned the ownership and corporate links of the companies. The complainants alleged that Globalcrete Builders was registered under the name of Maglanque, while Sto. Cristo was reportedly owned by a certain Noel Cruz. The group also asked the NBI to look into MBB Global Properties Corp., which they alleged was owned by Macy Monique Alarcon Maglanque, the mayor’s daughter, and the children of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel Bonoan and former undersecretary Roberto Bernardo. Meanwhile, in Bulacan, several roads in two towns are still impassable to motorists, while 70 barangays in three towns and one city are still under one to six feet of floodwater as of Friday morning. Manuel Lukban Jr., provincial disaster risk reduction management officer of Bulacan, reported that barangay roads are still impassable to wheeled vehicles in Calumpit and Hagonoy towns, one month since the series of typhoons and monsoon-enhanced rains hit the province. He cited that the worst flooded roads are in Barangays Gugo and Meysulao in Calumpit, which have been flooded with up to six feet of water and the only means of transportation is by boat. Classes, both public and private, in Calumpit and Hagonoy towns have been suspended and alternative modes of learning implemented. Lukban said Calumpit town has 26 barangays still flooded under one foot to six feet of water, followed by Hagonoy with 25, Paombong with 11 and Malolos with eight. A total of 2,465 families are still sheltered in 75 evacuation centers. Less rain is expected over the weekend, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said yesterday. Two low-pressure areas are being monitored outside the Philippine area of responsibility. Based on the latest weather satellite as of 4 p.m. yesterday, the first LPA was at 1,005 kilometers west of Southwestern Luzon with a medium chance of developing into a tropical cyclone in the next 24 hours. Meanwhile, the other LPA was located at 3,035 east of Eastern Visayas and is unlikely to develop into a tropical cyclone. The trough of the LPA will bring cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms in Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley. Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Western Visayas and Northern Samar will have cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms but due to the southwest monsoon. The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers due to localized thunderstorms. — Josiah Antonio