Pasig Mayor Links Political Rivals to Top Government Flood Control Contractors

PASIG CITY, Philippines — Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on Monday accused his political rivals of owning companies that rank among the country’s top 15 flood control contractors, following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s disclosure of firms that cornered billions in government infrastructure projects.

Sotto revealed that Alpha & Omega General Contractor & Development Corp. and St. Timothy Construction Corp., ranked second and third respectively among the government’s top flood control contractors, are owned by the Discaya family. The mayor also alleged that St. Gerrard Construction is controlled by the same family.

President Marcos disclosed that 15 contractors cornered 100 billion pesos, or 20% of all flood control projects nationwide.

The government has rolled out 545 billion pesos worth of flood control works since Marcos assumed office in July 2022, including 6,021 projects worth P350 billion pesos that lacked key details.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Sotto outlined what he called “the six stages of corruption” in government contracting, ranging from procurement anomalies to substandard implementation.

During his State of the Nation Address, Marcos warned corrupt officials, saying “mahiya naman kayo” (shame on you) and promised that “sa mga susunod na buwan, makakasuhan ang lahat ng mga lalabas na may sala mula sa imbestigasyon” (in the coming months, all those found guilty from the investigation will be charged).

The allegations carry particular weight given Sotto’s electoral history with the Discaya family. Two of the country’s top flood-control contractors are linked to the businesses of his former rival, Sarah Discaya. The mayor noted in his post that Discaya family-backed candidates were unsuccessful in recent Pasig elections.

Sotto alleged that one major contractor declared zero gross revenue to the local government unit while being among the top contractors nationally. He claimed corruption in contracting involves systematic practices including collusion in bidding, substandard project implementation, and kickbacks that can reach more than half of project costs.

Accusations and Response Plans

The mayor detailed a multi-stage corruption scheme he says involves:

• Bidding anomalies and collusion during procurement
• Substandard or fictitious project implementation
• Standard operating procedures requiring kickbacks exceeding 50% of project costs
• Tax evasion at both national and local levels
• Political involvement using a fraction of illegal proceeds for public relations

Sotto vowed that the Pasig government will send to the president all information it has involving corruption in government contracting. The mayor said his administration will pursue cases to collect millions or billions in unpaid business taxes owed by these contractors.

“Makolekta lang natin ang utang nilang Business Tax sa LGU, may pondo na ang Pasig para ipagawa ang Building para sa Judiciary at National Government Agencies,” Sotto wrote, suggesting that collecting unpaid taxes would fund construction of a judiciary building without reducing other programs.

Previous Tensions

Sotto has previously clashed with St. Gerrard Construction, publicly responding to complaints from two contractors and calling them out for violations. St. Timothy Construction Corp. was also involved in electoral technology partnerships, having withdrawn as a local partner for Miru Systems’ automated election system joint venture, with Sotto suggesting “they are planning to file their candidacy in Pasig”.

The mayor called on Pasig residents to help expose what he termed “systematic practices of corruption,” acknowledging that such efforts may be “difficult and even dangerous.”

President Marcos has pledged continued investigation into flood control project irregularities as part of broader anti-corruption efforts in government infrastructure spending.