Marilyn Cahatol

DPWH Sec. Vince Dizon attends the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on anomalous flood control projects on Thursday, September 18, 2025. The hearing was also attended by officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways led by Sec. Vince Dizon, along with representatives of contractors implicated in alleged ghost and substandard projects nationwide.
Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News-CBN News

Article (news)

FLOOD CONTROL PROBE

Andrea Taguines

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon on Sunday ordered regional officials and district engineers in Bicol to speed up the termination of all contracts bagged by companies linked to former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co and contractor couple Sarah and Curlee Discaya.</p><p>Co and the Discayas are facing corruption complaints in relation to alleged ghost and substandard flood control projects across the country.</p><p>Dizon said the situation in the Bicol Region is particularly concerning because many projects were awarded to firms linked to Co such as Sunwest Inc and Hi-Tone Construction.</p><p>A number of these projects have also been flagged for either being delayed or possibly defective.</p><p>“Alam naman natin hindi na pwedeng mangontrata yung Sunwest tsaka Hi-Tone ngayon kasi may mga kaso na, frozen na lahat ng accounts. Kailangan yan i-terminate na,” he said.</p><p>(We know that Sunwest and Hi-Tone can no longer bid for contracts because of the pending cases. Their accounts are frozen. These contracts must be terminated)</p><p>Dizon added that the sooner these contracts are terminated, the sooner the DPWH can bid them out to new firms that will finish or fix the projects.</p><p>“This is going to be a boring year kasi sa dami ng mga ito, libo-libong kontrata ‘to, wala tayong ibang gagawin kundi ganun — we have to bid it out and find a new contractor and finish it,” he said.</p><p>(With thousands of these contracts, we will not do much except bid them out to new contractors that will finish the projects)</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/1/30/dpwh-relieves-several-pampanga-2nd-district-officials-over-alleged-project-commission-1354">DPWH relieves several Pampanga 2nd District officials over alleged project commission</a></div><p>Among the stalled projects Dizon inspected was the multimillion-peso Malabog Flyover in Daraga, Albay, which has been under construction since 2021 despite being less than a kilometer long.</p><p>The DPWH said it is meant to be an alternate route for motorists leaving the Bicol International Airport and to decongest traffic along the Maharlika Highway.</p><p>Based on records, the first two phases of the project were bagged by Hi-Tone Construction, while the third phase was awarded to Discaya-owned Alpha &amp; Omega General Contractor and Development Corp.</p><p>“Kung talagang gustong gawin dapat isahan na lang ‘to, hindi yung china-chop chop mo (into phases)… Obvious naman inabandona na,” said Dizon.</p><p>(If they really wanted this completed, this should not have bene split into phases. Obviously, the project has been abandoned)</p><p>Dizon also assured the public that the involved contractors will be held accountable.</p><p>“Lahat naman yan may kaakibat na accountability. Lahat yan may kasong kasama yan. Pero at the same time, kailangan hindi tayo mawala sa focus na kailangan matapos na ‘to. Limang taon na ‘to,” he said.</p><p>(All of these come with accountability, these will come with criminal complaints. But at the same time, we should not lose sight that this has to be completed. It has already been five years)</p><p>The DPWH aims to finally complete the flyover by the middle of 2027.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/1/30/dpwh-relieves-several-pampanga-2nd-district-officials-over-alleged-project-commission-1354">DPWH relieves several Pampanga 2nd District officials over alleged project commission</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/muYmrZOVIOA?si=IlsNKhu2bgBDZzk1" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon on Sunday ordered regional officials and district engineers in Bicol to speed up the termination of all contracts bagged by companies linked to former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co and contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya.</p>

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon on Sunday ordered regional officials and district engineers in Bicol to speed up the termination of all contracts bagged by companies linked to former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co and contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya.

Dizon wants Zaldy Co, Discaya-linked contracts scrapped sooner so projects can be bid out

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Dizon wants Zaldy Co, Discaya-linked contracts scrapped sooner so projects can be bid out

Andrea Taguines,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 01, 2026 03:19 PM PHT

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DPWH

Vince Dizon

Maharlika Highway

Albay

DOTr

Giovanni Lopez

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