A Torrent of Contracts: How 15 Contractors Dominate Flood Control Projects

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Monday disclosed that 20% of the total P545 billion budget of flood control projects was awarded to only 15 contractors.

In the Philippines, a nation perennially grappling with the devastating effects of typhoons and monsoon rains, the fight against flooding is a matter of life and death. The government's flood control projects are the frontline in this battle, a crucial defense for communities and a significant investment of public funds. But a recent revelation by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has cast a long, dramatic shadow over this critical sector, raising questions about transparency, competition, and the concentration of power.

The President disclosed a staggering fact: a mere 15 contractors have been awarded a colossal 20% of the total $545 billion budget allocated for flood control projects. This revelation is more than just a statistic; it is a bombshell that suggests a concentrated and potentially exclusive world of contract awards, where a small group of players holds sway over a significant portion of the nation's flood defense infrastructure.

The image reveals the names of these 15 contractors, a list that now stands at the center of this burgeoning controversy:

1. Legacy Construction Corporation
2. Alpha & Omega Gen. Contractor & Development Corp.
3. St. Timothy Construction Corporation
4. QM Builders
5. EGB Construction Corporation
6. Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc.
7. Centerways Construction and Development Inc.
8. Sunwest, Inc.
9. Hi-Tone Construction & Development Corp.
10. Triple 8 Construction & Supply, Inc.
11. Royal Crown Monarch Construction & Supplies Corp.
12. Wawao Builders
13. MG Samidan Construction
14. L.R. Tiqui Builders, Inc.
15. Road Edge Trading & Development Services

This list, once a simple record of successful bidders, now takes on a new significance. Each name represents a piece of a $109 billion puzzle, a share of the national effort to safeguard against floods. The sheer scale of the funds involved—a fifth of a half-trillion-peso budget—raises urgent questions. How did these specific 15 companies secure such a dominant share of the contracts? Was the bidding process truly open and competitive, or did a series of coincidences lead to this striking concentration?

For a country where the need for robust and reliable flood control is so acute, the implications are profound. The public demands not only effective projects but also a fair and transparent process. The President's statement, while shedding light on the situation, also places a heavy burden on his administration to ensure that the awarding of these contracts is beyond reproach. The drama unfolding is not just about numbers on a page; it is about accountability, public trust, and the very foundations of the nation's resilience against the forces of nature. The eyes of the nation are now on these 15 companies, and on the government, awaiting a full accounting of how such a disproportionate share of the nation's flood control destiny came to rest in so few hands.