7 construction firms blacklisted by DPWH: Who are they?

National

FROM one-year suspensions to a permanent ban, seven construction firms have been sanctioned by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) over contract defaults and unlawful practices, including companies linked to personalities implicated in the flood control controversy.

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon approved the administrative sanctions through a series of department orders signed on Oct. 9, following the termination of the firms’ contracts over severe defaults and illegal practices.

Among those penalized are companies linked to detained contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya, fugitive Zaldy Co and state witness Sally Santos.

YPR Gen. Contractor and Construction Supply Inc., linked to the Discayas, received a permanent blacklisting after its third offense. The sanction stemmed from its failure to complete a multipurpose building project in Bulakan, Bulacan.

Three other Discaya-linked firms were suspended for one year. These are Alpha & Omega Gen. Contractor & Development Corp., St. Gerrard Construction Gen. Contractor & Development Corp. and Elite General Contractor & Development Corp. The three companies operate in the same office complex along F. Manalo Street

in Barangay Bambang, Pasig City.

The DPWH cited Alpha & Omega’s default on geo-engineering structures for Baywalk outfalls and pumping stations under the Manila Bay rehabilitation program. St. Gerrard was penalized for failing to deliver road safety lighting facilities along Aklan West Road, while Elite General defaulted on the National Tobacco Administration building project in Quezon City.

Sunwest Inc., a company linked to Co, also received a one-year suspension after its contract for the Mag-asawang Tubig River road dike flood mitigation project in Victoria, Oriental Mindoro, was terminated for breach of contract.

Meanwhile, Malolos-based SYMS Construction Trading, owned by state witness Sally Santos, was suspended for two years over unlawful acts involving the acquisition and implementation of its contract for the Bocaue Municipal Jail accommodation building project in Bulacan.

Quezon City-based Wawao Builders was handed a one-year suspension for similar unlawful acts in connection with a flood control structure along the Calero-San Juan-Sto. Cristo rivers in Malolos.

Dizon clarified that the blacklisting orders took effect immediately. He also stressed that the sanctions do not absolve the contractors of civil, administrative or criminal liabilities.

The firms may still face other consequences, including the forfeiture of performance bonds and the recovery of costs incurred by the government.(MyTVCebu)