PCAB urged to prevent 'comeback' of contractors involved in flood control mess

House public accounts panel chairperson Terry Ridon on Wednesday called on the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) to ensure that its blacklisted contractors involved in the flood control mess won’t be able to make their way back to securing government contracts.

Ridon made the call days after the passage of the P6.793 trillion budget and the ongoing investigation on anomalous flood control projects.

“Of course, we want to know, not just from the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways), but from PCAB, if they really blacklisted the notorious contractors involved in the flood control mess. Because under any budget, these contractors should not be able to touch such funding,” Ridon said in a press conference.

Ridon also said that the public should stay vigilant to help ensure that to make sure that there are no irregularities in government projects, particularly in the construction of classrooms and farm-to-market roads whose allocation are lodged under the budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Agriculture (DA), respectively.

“We have to make sure that these scrupulous contractors won’t be able to get involved in the DA and DepEd by staying vigilant on these agencies’ project implementation, including the imposition of tighter qualification rules for participating bidders for government projects,” Ridon said.

“We have to make sure that those who are building the project are actually the ones who won the bidding, not the ones who only borrowed a license,” Ridon added.

 One of those who admitted to borrowing licenses to operate is Syms Construction Trading owner Sally Santos, saying then DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office Assistant District Engineer Brice Hernandez has ordered her to borrow a license.

Those who will be found to be operating on a borrowed license, Ridon said, should face sanctions outright.

“These contractors should face the consequence of being blacklisted or facing criminal charges outright,” Ridon said.

Back in August 2025, the PCAB maintained their licenses were not for sale.

But just a month after that, PCAB revoked the contractor's licenses of nine construction companies owned and controlled by Sarah Discaya, who has admitted before a Senate flood control inquiry that her multiple companies used to bid per government projects. 

In October 2025, the Department of Trade and Industry announced that PCAB board members are already barred from owning construction firms to avoid conflict of interest.