MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vowed to address the controversies surrounding the botched, if not nonexistent, infrastructure projects implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) before he steps down in three years.
The President expressed his frustration yet again as he witnessed for himself another pair of “problematic” flood control projects in the country, this time in Tuba town, Benguet province.
But as it turned out, the top official of 3K Rock Engineering, the private contractor which bagged the almost P400 million in total of the two projects, was politically affiliated with Marcos.
The President, along with Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Tuba Mayor Clarita Sal-ongan, and DPWH officials, inspected on Sunday the rock shed project at Purok Millsite Sitio Camp 6 in Barangay Camp 4, on Kennon Road.
According to the President, the slope protection of the project disintegrated, causing boulders from the mountains to fall and damage the road.
Kennon Road, a major thoroughfare connecting the mountain city of Baguio to the lowland town of Rosario in La Union, has since been closed to motorists due to risks of rockfalls and landslides.
The public has been urged to take Marcos Highway and Asin-Nangalisan-San Pascual-La Union Road as alternate routes.
“Here is the problem: This P260 million project [is] useless. It’s like the government threw money into the river. Useless,” the President said.
“To correct this will cost double. That’s my top-of-the-head estimate, P500 million to fix this,” he added.
Based on DPWH records, 3K Rock Engineering listed engineer Francis Cuyop as its general manager. He established the construction firm as a sole proprietor, and it began operations on Jan. 27, 2000.
Cuyop, 56, ran as congressman of Ifugao’s lone district in the May 2025 elections but lost the post to lawyer Solomon Chungalao.
He ran under the banner of President Marcos’ Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP). His certificate of nomination and acceptance was signed by PFP president Reynaldo Tamayo Jr.
Mr. Marcos vowed there would be no allies or adversaries in his latest crackdown against corrupt officials and private contractors involved in anomalous flood control projects of the government.
Based on DPWH records, from 2018 to 2023, 3K Rock cornered a total of 43 projects amounting to P1.55 billion. 3K Rock bagged 12 of these projects with other contractors.
The Inquirer reached out to Cuyop through his official Facebook page but he has not yet responded as of writing.
According to the DPWH, the national government allocated P274 million from its 2022 budget for the construction of a 152-meter, two-lane rock shed along Kennon Road to serve as a protective structure to safeguard motorists from rock falls and landslides.
The contract amounting to P264 million was awarded to 3K Rock Engineering. The project started on Jan. 10, 2023, and was reported to be completed on April 13, 2025.
Marcos also inspected the “rock netting” project also built by 3K Rock Engineering.
Under the P114.18-million contract, a 3,479-square meter active mesh system should be put up on the portion of Kennon Road at Purok Maramal, Sitio Camp 5 also in Barangay Camp 4 to stabilize rock formations and minimize landslide risks.
The installation of the rockfall netting started on April 24, 2018 and was reported to be completed on June 15, 2019.
“This rock netting is very notorious for corruption. Rock netting has already been banned, but it kept being implemented,” the President said.
He also raised the issue of the contractor allegedly overcharging for the cost of materials used for the project.
Nevertheless, Marcos committed to fixing all the infrastructure issues in his remaining three years in office.
“If there’s one thing [that I promise], I will not leave this office until it (the government) fixes this issue,” he said.
Similar to his previous inspections of flood control projects in different parts of the country, the President warned those involved in the anomalous flood control projects that they would be charged with economic sabotage, a nonbailable offense whose penalties include a life sentence.
Based on the estimate of the local government of Tuba, the closure of Kennon Road caused economic losses to businesses and people’s livelihoods by as much as 35 percent.
“So it’s not only the physical damage that you can see, but it is also the damage to the economy. It is also the damage to the people’s livelihood,” the President said.
