Lacson flags alleged extortion in PCAB

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson over the weekend sounded the alarm over supposed extortion in the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB), saying a contractor was threatened to pay at least P1 million or face the non-renewal of his license.

“A contractor had a problem that he sought to settle with the PCAB. It was a case of extortion because he was blackmailed into coughing up at least a million pesos. He was told his license would not be renewed if he did not pay up,” he was quoted as saying in Filipino in an interview on GMA Super Radyo dzBB.

According to the senator, he was also informed that another contractor had to pay P7 million for his first-time accreditation, adding that he hoped the contractor would cooperate with ongoing investigations and elaborate on the story.

Under the law, no contractor — including sub-contractors and specialty contractors — can engage in the business of contracting without first having secured a PCAB license to conduct business.

GMA News Online has reached out to the PCAB for comment on the matter. This story will be updated as soon as the agency responds.

To recall, Lacson last week said the PCAB is involved in “accreditation for sale,” as he said the agency takes care of the paperwork of private contractors for at least P2 million, which PCAB has denied.

He also previously flagged the potential conflict of interest as two executives of PCAB, Engineers Erni Baggao and Arthur Escalante, who inked government contracts as presidents of their own construction firms.

"When you enter government service, particularly a regulatory body and you have a conflict of interest due to your business or practice, you should divest from your business within 30 days," the lawmaker said.

"If we follow Escalante's explanation, that means a lawyer who is appointed as a judge or justice can still practice law or run his law firm. That is wrong reasoning. Escalante has to consult a lawyer because he may be charged for violating RA 6713 over clear conflict of interest," he added.

Escalante said he does not see a conflict of interest, as he said PCAB members should be contractors. Baggao has yet to comment on the matter. — RF, GMA Integrated News