Suicides, allegations hound DPWH amid ICI probe

By Manuel T. Ugalde

LEGAZPI CITY — A series of deaths involving public works officials has cast a pall over the Bicol region, following the ongoing probe by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) into alleged ghost and anomalous government projects.

The first reported incident occurred in Sorsogon on November 13, when a 60-year-old Engineer III, identified as Larry Reyes, chair of the Bids and Awards Committee of the Sorsogon 1st District Engineering Office, reportedly died by suicide. Colleagues said Reyes had been showing signs of depression and extreme stress amid the ICI investigation.

The incident was later followed by the reported suicide of Senior Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, who died on December 18 after plunging into a 30-meter ravine along Kennon Road in Baguio City. The site was linked to a controversial P250-million slope protection project involving rock netting.

The ICI earlier disclosed the initial discovery of 482 alleged ghost flood control projects nationwide, reportedly worth billions of pesos.

Of the four deaths now being linked by sources to the ICI probe, one involved an engineer who was ambushed in Ilocos Norte, while another alleged suicide in Bicol was reportedly declared as a health-related death, according to insiders.

Sorsogon, the site of the first reported suicide, is the home province of former Senate President Francis Escudero. Sources alleged that during his term, the province received billions of pesos in public works funding, with several projects reportedly awarded to Centerways Construction, owned by Laurence Lubiano, a Sorsogon-based contractor.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has earlier named Centerways among the top 15 construction firms allegedly involved in anomalous public works projects, accusing some contractors and officials of colluding to siphon public funds.

Second alleged incident

A troubling development later emerged in Legazpi City, where sources alleged a second suicide involving an Engineer III assigned to the DPWH Bicol Regional Office’s Planning Division, just weeks after the Sorsogon incident.

The engineer, a resident of Daraga, Albay, was described by colleagues as being under severe stress and depression, allegedly linked to his role as project engineer for a regional project described by sources as a “virtual ghost.”

A district engineer, who requested anonymity for lack of authority to speak, claimed that the death was “carefully shielded” and reported as a health issue.

“It was cavalierly shielded and disguised as a health concern,” the source said in a phone interview and text exchanges.

DPWH denials

DPWH Bicol Regional Director Virgilio Eduarte confirmed the suicide incident in Sorsogon but categorically denied any suicide involving an engineer at the regional office in Legazpi.

Eduarte acknowledged the death of a Planning Division employee but said it was caused by a heart condition, citing an official autopsy report. He also denied that the Bicol regional office is under investigation for ghost projects.

However, insiders claimed that teams from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have been regularly visiting the DPWH regional office in recent months.

A separate source supported Eduarte’s statement, saying the death was medically confirmed as heart-related. The source added that the Bicol region was not among the areas implicated in the ICI’s reported 482 ghost projects, although he admitted there have been reports of overlapping contracts, substandard work, and overpriced infrastructure, particularly road projects.

The Bicol region received P86 billion under the 2025 General Appropriations Act, the highest allocation among regions. Of this amount, P49 billion reportedly went to flood control projects starting in 2023.

Despite persistent allegations branding Bicol public works as among the most corrupt, insiders noted that the regional office has sought to downplay the issue, pointing instead to the long-standing presence of so-called “insider contractors”—a practice traced back to the post-EDSA era, when lawmakers were given wide influence over project implementation and the appointment of district engineers.