Accreditation bodies in flood works controversy get new heads

DTI Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque announced that she accepted the resignation of PCAB  Executive Director Herbert Matienzo on September 3 —PHOTO FROM DTI FB PAGE

MANILA, Philippines — Trade Secretary Cristina Roque has appointed new officials to head the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP) and the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB), two bodies recently dragged into the controversy surrounding government flood control projects.

The appointments of Doris Gacho and Sergie Retome as acting executive directors of the CIAP and PCAB, respectively, “will ensure continuity of operations during the revamp,” Roque said in a statement on Saturday.

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READ: PCAB executive director resigns amid ‘registration for sale’ allegation

Promotion, regulation

The CIAP is an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) tasked with promoting and regulating the development of the construction industry, while the PCAB acts as one of its implementing boards.

Before her appointment, Gacho served as executive director of the Philippine Domestic Construction Board, another implementing board of the CIAP. Earlier, she was corporate planning chief of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, the export promotion arm of DTI.

Conflict of interest

Retome, an engineer, was division chief of the PCAB’s Technical and Financial Evaluation Division before he was appointed acting head of the board.

The CIAP and PCAB had come under fire following Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s allegations that the accreditation issued by these bodies were being offered “for sale” to contractors who seek to qualify for government contracts. Lacson also cited a possible conflict of interest in the PCAB.

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Amid the issues being raised against the board, PCAB board member Erni Baggao resigned on Sept. 3. Baggao also heads EGB Construction Corp., one of the 15 companies earlier listed by President Marcos as having cornered the bulk of flood control projects since 2022.

Also quitting their posts were PCAB board member Arthur Escalante, head of AN Escalante Construction Inc.; and lawyer Herbert Matienzo, executive director of both the CIAP and PCAB.

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Fact-finding team

According to the DTI, these officials resigned for “personal and health reasons.”

Roque on Thursday said more CIAP and PCAB officials would be replaced.

The DTI, she said, has formed an oversight and fact-finding team that “will coordinate investigations, responses, communications, and recovery efforts related to issues like the current PCAB licensing concerns.”

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The initiative seeks to “safeguard public interest, ensure accountability and maintain stakeholder confidence” in the PCAB, the secretary added. /cb —JORDEENE B. LAGARE

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