Dizon: Another DPWH project engineer will be dismissed

Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon said another DPWH project engineer will be dismissed from the agency due to alleged involvement in three anomalous flood control projects.

Dizon said based on the findings of the Commission on Audit’s (COA) Fraud Audit team, Paul Jayson Duya and other DPWH Bulacan officials such as former 1st District Engineer Henry Alcantara, Assistant District Engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez, Construction Section Chief Jaypee Mendoza, and Mark Allan Arevalo of Wawao Builders, were allegedly responsible over the incomplete construction of flood mitigation structures in Barangay Frances, Calumpit, Bulacan worth P77 million.

“Lahat po ng mapa-file-an ng kaso rito, dismissed. Ngayon, may bago na namang pangalan dito, dismissed na ‘yan, si engineer Paul Jason Duya. May proseso ang dismissal, but in the next few days i-a-announce ko na iyong official dismissal ni Hernandez at Mendoza,” Dizon told reporters during the turnover of COA Fraud Audit findings to the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday afternoon.

“What was built was only 77.90 meters, way short of the 124 meters stated in the original proposal. Another key finding was that Wawao Builders was paid an additional P3 million, without any documentation explaining why the costs went up contrary to the provisions of the Government Procurement Reform Act,” COA said.

During the inspection, COA also said shoddy workmanship issues were easily seen in the P77 million project which include: numerous cracks along the dike crest were observed with an approximate total crack length of 3.9 meters and with crack width varying from 2 to 3.2 centimeters.

“Hindi po tayo hihinto rito. Tuloy-tuloy po ito,” Dizon added.

COA also named Duya as one of the people allegedly responsible for the construction of flood mitigation structures in Barangay Sta. Lucia, Calumpit, Bulacan worth P74 million by Wawao Builders which was listed 90% complete on record, although it was not the case on site. 

“The work claimed to be almost 90% complete, but auditors could not confirm this on site. Inspectors saw the dike tilting, misaligned, and riddled with cracks. The same DPWH officials, Alcantara, Hernandez, Duya, and Mendoza-together with Arevalo of Wawao Builders, were held responsible,” COA said.

Lastly, COA identified Duya as one of those allegedly liable alongside other DPWH Bulacan First District officials in the rehabilitation of river protection structure in Bulusan, Calumpit, Builacan worth P96.4 million by St. Timothy Construction Corporation.

COA said the red flags of the P96.4 million project include:

• dredging and embankment work was overstated (the required supporting documents to prove the work done was not submitted to COA)
• the number of materials used could not be verified because the items were buried and lacked documentation
• only the verified distance of 226.3 meters was used in the computation of quantities by COA during the inspection, and
• the project was not connected to other flood control works, meaning flooding in the area could still happen.

“Despite these issues, St. Timothy's project was still declared "100 percent complete" and issued a certificate of completion by DPWH-Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office,” COA said.—AOL, GMA Integrated News