Camille Naredo

Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) special adviser and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, together with Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon, conduct an on-site inspection of major infrastructure projects in Pampanga on Tuesday, September 23, 2025.

Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) special adviser and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, together with Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon, conduct an on-site inspection of major infrastructure projects in Pampanga on Tuesday, September 23, 2025. The officials checked the progress of the San Agustin Bridge in Camba and the Candating flood-control project in Arayat, both designed to improve mobility and strengthen the province’s disaster resilience against flooding.

Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

FLOOD CONTROL PROBE

Victoria Tulad

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Senators called out the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) after finding out that the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) has not revoked the licenses of Wawao Builders and Syms Construction Trading, companies which are connected to the flood control anomaly.PCAB is under DTI.Officials of the department faced the Senate Subcommittee on Finance on Monday during the deliberation of its proposed 2026 budget. “Upon review of the PCAB online license, yung Wawao Builders, in spite of its perpetual lifetime ban sa DPWH, buhay na buhay pa rin ang kanilang PCAB license. Hindi naman hininto. Andun pa rin sa online. Tinignan lang namin,” said Senator Imee Marcos, Chairperson of the Subcommittee. “The same website also lists the license of Syms Construction with a perpetual lifetime ban di ba sa public works. Yun ang sabi sa’tin. It just expired in October, wala naman nirevoke,” she addedAccording to PCAB Executive Director Sergie Retome, they cannot revoke at the moment because they are waiting for the new PCAB Board to be appointed by the President after all three members resigned. “Once the new board will be reconstituted, we will be recommending for the revocation of the license of Syms and Wawao due to license lending,” Retome said.Marcos also criticized the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP), which supervises PCAB.“CIAP was not created to be a rubber stamp. You have regulatory powers of some sort. You don’t run PCAB siyempre. Yung members pa rin. Pero yung CIAP ano naman ang papel nun? It oversees, it supervises, it actually punishes and regulates, but that’s clearly not being done by DTI with all due respect,” she said.Committee on Finance Chairperson Senator Sherwin Gatchalian laid out a suggestion: “Alam naman natin napakadaling gumawa ng korporasyon dito. Suggestion, ko i-ban niyo na rin pati mga shareholders. Kapag may mga shareholders who will put up a construction company, at nadetect ng PCAB the same shareholders na dapat binan ninyo, dapat hindi na sila pwedeng sumali sa government projects.” He also urged DTI to act swiftly to prevent collusion, which was allegedly done by the Discayas who are also implicated in the flood control mess. “Ang defense ni Discaya nagpalit sila ng ownership pero nakita namin mga anak pa rin pinalitan niya, mga pamangkin,” Gatchalian said.Retome said this will be one of the improvements they will recommend to the new PCAB board.

Senators called out the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) after finding out that the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) has not revoked the licenses of Wawao Builders and Syms Construction Trading, companies which are connected to the flood control anomaly.

Senators called out the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) after finding out that the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) has not revoked the licenses of Wawao Builders and Syms Construction Trading, companies which are connected to the flood control anomaly.

DTI, PCAB questioned for not revoking licenses of 2 construction firms tagged in flood control mess

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DTI, PCAB questioned for not revoking licenses of 2 construction firms tagged in flood control mess

Victoria Tulad,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 13, 2025 06:00 PM PHT

Read More:

PCAB

DTI

flood control

Wawao Builders

Syms Construction

license

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