QC Uncovers More 'Suspicious' Flood Projects

In Quezon City, some flood control projects in different locations were awarded to different contractors that submitted the exact same bid amounts, with some even up to the last centavo.

- By JANVIC MATEO

These were among the initial findings of the local government in its ongoing assessment of the flood control projects implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the city.

"There are projects with exactly the same approved budget for the contract or the same contract cost only in different locations, as if they simply used a template," Mayor Joy Belmonte said in Filipino during a press briefing on Friday.

According to City Engineer Mark Dale Perral, they discovered 16 projects with identical contract amounts with at least one other project, while another 25 have similar approved budget with at least one other project.

"The approved budget for the contract may possibly be the same, since sometimes that's for budgeting. But what we noticed here is that the contract amount is exactly the same," he said in Filipino, referring to the bid of the winning contractors.

Among those flagged by the city were three separate projects implemented by the DPWH-QC District Engineering Office 1 in 2022, which all had a contract amount of P14.259 million.