Escudero signs subpoenas on 8 contractors that skipped hearing

Senate President Francis Escudero has signed the subpoenas on the individuals behind the eight construction firms that did not send representatives during the Senate flood control inquiry last week.

In a statement, Escudero’s office said the subpoenas will be sent out on Tuesday, August 26, since August 25 is a non-working holiday due to National Heroes’ Day.

The eight construction firms that skipped the first Senate Blue Ribbon panel flood control probe include:

• Alpha & Omega General Contractor & Development Corp. 
• Hi-Tone Construction & Development Corp. 
• L.R. Tiqui Builders Inc.
• Royal Crown Monarch Construction & Supplies Corp.
• St. Timothy Construction Corp.
• Sunwest Inc.
• Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc. and
• Wawao Builders

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has launched a crackdown on anomalous flood control projects, naming the top 15 construction companies that bagged the lion’s share of P545 billion worth of flood control projects under government contracts.

The President has said that these 15 firms constructed flood-control projects in areas that are not necessarily flood-prone.

Escudero, on the other hand, admitted to being friends with one of the owners of one of the 15 construction firms mentioned by the President, Lawrence Lubiano, who serves as the president of the Centerways Construction and Development Inc.

He said Lubiano was one of his campaign contributors during his successful 2022 Senate comeback election bid but has denied that he intervened in Lubiano’s business and contracts with the government.

The proposed 2026 budget has earmarked at least P274 billion for flood-control projects. 

The construction firms whose representatives graced the first Senate probe include:

• Legacy Construction Corporation
• QM Builders
• EGB Construction Corporation
• Centerways Construction and Development Inc.
• Triple 8 Construction & Supply, Inc.
• G Samidan Construction and
• Road Edge Trading & Development Services

–NB, GMA Integrated News