Senate grills Cebu contractor over flood control projects

Marcoleta threatens to throw gavel

Engineer Allan Quirante, owner and president of QM Builders, appeared before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on August 19, 2025 for the congressional hearing on controversial flood control projects. | Screenshot from Senate of the Philippines Video

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Senators pressed a Cebu-based contractor on Tuesday, August 19, over alleged irregularities in government flood control projects.

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee formally opened its investigation into the matter on Tuesday, with QM Builders among those present.

Engineer Allan Quirante, owner and founder of QM Builders, personally attended Tuesday’s congressional hearing.

Tensions quickly escalated when lawmakers scrutinized the company’s financial capacity. Especially when discussions started to focus on how a simple hardware store from Brgy. Poblacion, Dumanjug town in southwestern Cebu, had evolved into a construction company that bagged billions worth of projects from the national government despite having minimal capitalization.

READ: Senate panel begins probe into ‘anomalous’ flood control projects

Low capitalization?

According to Quirante, QM Builders began as a family-owned hardware shop in 1992. They eventually expanded into construction services in the 2000s.

Their official site shows that the company currently possesses the highest license from the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB): AAAA.

Having AAAA meant that the firm has ‘met rigorous standards in terms of experience, financial capacity, and technical expertise, allowing them to undertake large-scale and complex construction projects in the Philippines.’

Quirante clarified that they underwent lower PCAB license categories before reaching AAAA.

But lawmakers, upon presenting the company’s financial statements, questioned QM Builders’ ability to undertake big-ticket projects, including flood control ones.

Citing data from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Sen. Win Gatchalian noted how QM Builders Inc., with a paid-up capital of only P1.25 million, got hold of government contracts worth approximately P7.4 billion.

The same report from the SEC also showed the company recorded losses and asset declines from 2015 to 2024, even reporting zero assets and profits.

Under government rules, contractors handling projects worth more than P400 million must have at least P1 billion capitalization.

“So paano siya nakakuha ng P7.3 billion na never siyang kumita ni isang centimo at and capitalization niya ay P1.2 million? Isa lang to, meron pang iba diyan na tinitigan namin,” Gatchalian said.

(So how did he get the P7.3 billion when he never had a profit of even one centavo and his capitalization is P1.2 million? This is just one; there are still others that we are looking into.)

“Ang punto ko ho, meron talagang mga tao na linalaro ang pre-qualification stage,” he added.

(My point is, there are really people rigging the pre-qualification stage.)

Quirante disputed the figures, claiming they belonged to their hardware store and not the construction company. He added that QM Builders has not joined any bidding this year and currently has a Net Financial Contracting Capacity (NFCC) of P40 billion, based on their assets.

‘Martilyo’

His explanation failed to convince lawmakers, particularly Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who accused Quirante of evading questions.

Marcoleta asked Quirante how the Malacañang included his company among the 15 contractors that received billions worth of flood control projects if they had not started any flood control projects.

A visibly tense Quirante replied that of 414 flood control projects in Cebu, only 86 were awarded to them — further irritating the senator.

“Baka hindi ka makauwi sa araw na ito, nagsisinungaling ka na naman eh,” Marcoleta warned.

(Perhaps, you cannot go home today, you are lying.)

At one point, the senator threatened to throw his gavel in frustration, saying: “’Wag kang tatawa-tawa kasi hindi nakakatawa ito. Dito pa lang, nagsisinungaling ka na.”

(Don’t laugh because this is not a laughing matter. We are just here and you are already lying.)

Sen. Bato de la Rosa, for his part, advised Quirante to drink water to calm his nerves and in order to properly respond to queries from the Senate.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier named 15 contractors that allegedly cornered most flood control projects nationwide. QM Builders was one of them.

Of those, only seven appeared at Tuesday’s hearing.

This month, Marcos also ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to audit all flood control projects built since 2022, after criticizing officials and contractors who profited from substandard works that failed to curb flooding during recent storms.

Prior to Tuesday’s Senate inquiry, some Cebu officials publicly defended QM Builders’ record, saying the company had delivered on its projects. / with reports from INQUIRER.net