Oriental Mindoro Governor Humerlito “Bonz” Dolor on Monday disclosed that around P17.8 billion worth of insertions were funneled into his province’s budget from 2022 to 2025 for flood control projects, raising questions on alleged irregularities.
During the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing, Dolor said Oriental Mindoro’s allocation jumped from P12 billion under the National Expenditure Program to P30 billion under the General Appropriations Act. “Total insertion po is P17.8 billion as far as flood control projects are concerned, which are P25 million and above. Ulitin ko po, we did not include other projects which did not include flood control,” he told senators.
The governor flagged several projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), calling them “substandard” and “overpriced,” and pointed to contractors Sunwest and St. Timothy Construction Corporation. One flood control project, Dolor said, appeared to be designed more like a boulevard than a protective structure. “Saan po kayo nakakita ng flood control pero dinisenyo ng DPWH na parang gumagawa ng boulevard… 20 meters na lapad na kalsada tapos lalagyan ng konting semento sa kanan tapos kwentong semento sa kaliwa,” he noted.
Dolor also criticized a road dike he called the “ghost project,” with missing details on specific barangays, allegedly handled by St. Timothy. Another, which he dubbed the “Manananggal Project,” involved a contract for 325 meters but only 189 meters were completed in 2023. “Nawala ang kalahati… para pong manananggal. Binabalikan ang kalahati ng katawan pag tapos na,” he said.
He further revealed that when he asked DPWH officials about the questionable designs, he was told the issue was tied to higher-level payoffs. “TInanong ko po si Director Pacanan ng DPWH… simple lang po ang sinabi niya sa akin. [Governor] maganda naman po sana ‘yung disenyo. Kaya lang ho, alam niyo naman may kailangan ho bigyan ng 25% sa taas,” Dolor recounted, referring to former DPWH Region IV-B Director Gerald Pacanan, now reassigned to the central office.
At the same hearing, contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya also identified several lawmakers, congressional staff, and DPWH officials allegedly involved in corruption surrounding the multibillion-peso flood control projects.
