Frasco dangles P500K reward for info on anomalous flood control projects

An aerial view of a portion of the Cotcot River project in Liloan, Cebu. | Photo from the DPWH-7 FB

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – Rep. Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco has offered a P500,000 cash reward for credible information that could lead to the discovery of anomalies in the implementation of flood control projects in Cebu’s 5th District.

He urged informants to call 0956-279-4183 or the Citizens’ Complaint Hotline 8888.

Frasco also said he has asked the Central Visayas office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to conduct a full review of all projects in his district, following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for a nationwide investigation into flood control projects.

READ: No ghost flood control projects in Cebu – DPWH 7 head

“I will never tolerate any irregularities or substandard work, and I fully support efforts to uphold transparency and accountability in all government-funded projects,” Frasco said in an advisory posted on his social media page on Friday, September 5.

Cotcot River projects

Jun Abines, lead convenor of the Cebu Citizen Anti-Corruption Watch, earlier said that six flood control projects worth millions of pesos were implemented along the Cotcot River in 2024 and 2025.

READ: Disaster officials blame flooding in Cebu on ‘lack of discipline’

One of these projects, worth P150 million, was awarded to a construction firm owned by Sarah Discaya.

Abines said their group plans to conduct a people’s audit of DPWH-funded projects in Cebu that were implemented over the last three years, starting with the flood control projects along the Cotcot River.

“If it’s there, we congratulate him. If it’s not there, we will do what is right. We will move in the right direction, either filing a case or exposing the irregularities. But as of now, there is no conclusion on our part. We just saw that one of the biggest projects in the last three years belongs to Liloan, Cotcot, and it doesn’t matter who is the contractor or who is the congressman. We just want to find out if the money of the Filipino people is really spent on the project or being pocketed by individuals,” he said.

Abines added that his group is now in talks with volunteer civil engineers who will help them assess “if, in fact, these projects are worth the value that was contracted.”

He stressed that the implementation of projects that fail to deliver their supposed value is tantamount to “squandering the people’s money.”

Abines also invited Frasco to join their site visit of the Cotcot River projects.

“Magkuyog mi. I’ll be honored,” he said.