Photo credit: DPWH

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has dismissed several officials linked to allegedly anomalous flood control projects in Bulacan, following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to clean up the agency after a series of controversies involving ghost and substandard projects.

Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon confirmed on Thursday, September 4, 2025, the removal of suspended former Bulacan 1st District Engineer Henry C. Alcantara after an on-site inspection revealed serious discrepancies in a declared completed project in Barangay Sipat, Plaridel, Bulacan.

According to Secretary Dizon, the P96.5-million flood control project along the Angat River, awarded to Wawao Builders and marked as completed in June 2025, had only begun construction three weeks ago, using makeshift labor arrangements.

“Mga hayop ang gumawa nito, hindi sila tao, para gawin nila ito sa mga kababayan natin. And believe me, itong mga hayop na ito makukulong,” Dizon said, expressing strong condemnation of the alleged corruption.

The DPWH chief assured that Wawao Builders will face perpetual blacklisting, alongside other contractors such as Syms Construction Trading, previously implicated in similar fraudulent projects. Suspended Assistant District Engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez and former Construction Section Chief Engr. Jaypee Mendoza will also be dismissed from service.

“This is only the beginning,” Dizon stressed, adding that the agency will impose lifetime disqualification on contractors involved in anomalous deals. “The President has repeatedly said—and this was his clear marching order to me—that we must not allow this to happen anymore, and to hold people who have done this to account.”