A team from the Office of the Ombudsman inspected various road and flood control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in four towns last week, including an unfinished P55-million road construction in Gigmoto.
A reliable source told the Tribune that the six-man team headed by Joel Purruganan and including an official of the Commission on Audit, arrived by ferry from the mainland last Nov. 4, 2026 to conduct an inspection of projects allegedly funded through the initiative of Congressman Eulogio R. Rodriguez,
The very first project they visited was the controversial access road project implemented in 2022 that would have linked the national highway at Villa Aurora, Viga to Minaabat beach in Sicmil, Gigmoto.
The others were flood control projects in Tilod and Buenavista in Baras, Batalay seawall in Bato, and another project in Palawig, San Andres.
It may be recalled that in September 2024, four residents of Gigmoto filed a complaint with the Ombudsman against Engr. Virgilio C. Eduarte, then DPWH Bicol regional director, and Merlinda A. Rodriguez, president of E.R. Rodriguez Construction Corporation and wife of Congressman Eulogio R. Rodriguez.
The duo has been charged with violation of Section 3 (g) of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, for entering, on behalf of the government, into any contract or transaction manifestly and grossly disadvantageous to the government.
They were likewise accused of violation of two provisions of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.
The project, involving the construction of a 920-meter gravel road and 2,309 sq. m. of slope protection, among other items of work, had a target completion date of February 15, 2023.
However, for various reasons, the project’s completion date was revised to August 7, 2023, January 15, 2024, and March 15, 2024, indicating that it was supposed to be completed by the time the Provincial Project Monitoring Committee (PPMC) made its inspection on May 17, 2024.
In fact, the committee report stated, DPWH engineers Lou Anne Panesa and Elijorge Manlangit signed a Project Accomplishment Report showing that the road project was already 91% completed as of Dec. 31, 2023.
The committee, however, discovered that the actual accomplishment in the same project as of May 2024 is only 64.5%, for a negative slippage of more than 15%.
The Ombudsman complaint likewise noted that even after the supposed expiration of the contract on March 15, 2024, ER Rodriguez Construction Corp. continued work on a revised route even in the absence of a duly approved Contract Time Extension and Variation Order, in violation of Section 3, Annex E of Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.
It stated that the Stone Masonry and Grouted Riprap of the project are substandard as the contractor utilized cracked portions of concrete from reblocking projects instead of boulders, which the complainants said is a violation of the DPWH Manual.
The actual slope of the side cut is between 70 to 80 degrees, which is not in accordance with submitted plans and specifications which requires a slope of 45 degrees, it added.
The complaint also underscored that the submitted plan’s profile, especially the cut-and-fill sections, are not realistic and do not seem to reflect actual topography as indicated by the finished cut sections.
The “irregular and unrealistic” cross sections resulted in the very high quantities of the bloated item, which is grossly disadvantageous to the government and guaranteed to favor the contractor, the complainants said.
“It is clear that the design of the road is not in accordance with DPWH standards, particularly on value engineering,” it emphasized, concluding that the P 55-million project, which calls for a 920-meter gravel road, is grossly overpriced compared to the cost of paving a 6.7-wide and 280-mm thick national road at only P35 million per kilometer.
Last year, after TGP Partylist Rep. Jose Teves Jr. criticized the irregular implementation of the project, RD Eduarte reported to then DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon that the project was already terminated in November 2023 based on a report from the project engineer, Engineer II Edwin A. Valenzuela, and noted by the Construction Division chief. Engineer V Alex L. Lacuna.
The memo also stated that the contractor’s physical accomplishment as of Nov. 19, 2023 was 66.65% compared to the scheduled accomplishment of 75.56%, for a slippage of negative 8.91%.
“In view of the suspension because of the above-cited reason, the implementing office terminated the contract on the ground of technical impossibility to implement the project,” Engr. Valenzuela claimed.
Also included in Valenzuela’s report to RD Eduarte was a certification from DPWH Chief Administrative Officer Ma. Teresa B. Armario that no payment was made for the Minaabat project to ER Rodriguez Construction Corporation as per accounting records.
The DPWH’s claim that it had already terminated the Minaabat contract in November 2023, however, does not tally with the Field Monitoring Report made by the Provincial Project Monitoring Committee (PPMC) following its inspection of the project on May 17, 2024.
In December 2024, then RD Eduarte directed the Regional Inspectorate Team to verify the actual accomplishment in the project.
The team allegedly discovered that a revised route was executed without an approved Variation Order in violation of RA 9184, with the authorized work undertaken by the contractor determined to be just 220 meters, with the other 700-meter revised route “not proper and legal.”
Thus, the accomplishment of ERR Construction Corporation as of that date amounted to only P4.3 million, far short of the P55 million contract cost.
The report, which validated most of the allegations stated in the Ombudman complaint against RD Eduarte and Rodriguez, recommended that the project engineer be required to explain why there was no approved Variation Order with regards to the revised route and why he allowed the contractor to work on the new route.
However, only the inspectorate team leader, then District Engineer Gil Augustus A. Balmadrid, and Catanduanes DEO Construction Section Engineer II Gabriel F. Samonte signed the report.
The other team members – Engineer II Jeremie A. Longoria, Engineer II Christian Manuel G. Alzaga, Engineer III Joseph J. Jacob, and Engineer III Erwin B. Macatingrao – reportedly did not sign the report upon instructions from higher officials.