The Commission on Audit (COA) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have referred the second batch of fraud audit reports to the Ombudsman, tagging several Bulacan engineers and contractors in multimillion-peso ghost projects, with Secretary Vince Dizon slamming the scheme as “shameless” and vowing no one will be spared from accountability.

COA Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba and DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon personally submitted the documents, which detailed irregularities involving Wawao Builders and the joint venture of TopNotch Catalyst Builders Inc./One Frame Construction Inc.

“This is based on the August 12 memorandum for fraud audit that we issued after the President gave his instructions to everyone to look into these projects and ensure prosecution of those accountable,” Cordoba stressed.

In the report, former Bulacan District Engineer Henry C. Alcantara, Engr. Ernesto C. Galang, and Mark Allan V. Arevalo of Wawao Builders were found liable for a ghost project along the Angat River in Barangay Sipat, Plaridel, Bulacan.

Another ghost project in Barangay Bunsuran (Purok 4), Pandi, Bulacan, those implicated include Alcantara, former Assistant District Engineer Brice Ericson D. Hernandez, Engrs. Jolo Mari V. Tayao, Lemuel Ephraim SD. Roque, John Michael E. Ramos, Galang, and contractor managing officer Gian Carlo Galang, along with other officials and board members of the construction firms.

“Nakakagalit, ngayon lang ako nakakita ng ganito. Talagang kawalang-hiyaan na ito. Umabot na sa punto na akala nila untouchable sila, na hindi sila mahuhuli, na hindi sila mananagot,” Dizon said, expressing outrage over the findings.

Dizon vowed sustained efforts in partnership with the Inter-Agency Coordinating Council on Infrastructure (ICI) in the coming days and weeks to pursue accountability.

Meanwhile, Cordoba said COA is prepared to work closely with DPWH in implementing geo-tagging systems to monitor projects before and after completion.

Plans are also underway for a unified dashboard system integrating DPWH, the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB), and other agencies to ensure transparency and public access to project data.