SENATOR Panfilo Lacson revealed on Tuesday that five ex-officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), linked to the controversial flood control projects, gambled away P950 million in casinos.
In a privilege speech, Lacson revealed that former Bulacan 1st District Engineer Henry Alcantara, along with Assistant Engineers Brice Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza, Arjay Domasig, and Edrick San Diego, pretended to be contractors when taking casino dealings.
This led the newly named Senate President Pro Tempore to coin a moniker for the group: the “BGC Boys.” But unlike the popular Gen Z reference, this version of “BGC Boys” carries a very different meaning.
“On top of their multi-million peso wristwatches, signature clothes and sneakers, and whatever lavish lifestyles, these 5 erstwhile DPWH officials of the Bulacan First District Engineering office gained themselves a moniker: BGC Boys,” Lacson said.
“Not Bonifacio Global City Boys, but Bulacan Group of Contractors as they have been known to casino employees.”
“Malululula tayo sa laki ng halagang naging talo ng limang ito sa casino: P950 million in gross losses,” he said, citing records from 13 casinos in Metro Manila, Cebu and Pampanga.
Lavish Lifestyle
Lacson revealed that Hernandez was at a casino on September 1 — the day the Senate launched its investigation into flood control controversies. He also noted that three other members of the so-called “BGC Boys” had been to casinos a few weeks prior, in August.
“Habang lubog pa rin sa tubig-baha ang mga taga-Bulacan dahil sa pangungurakot ng mga ito at kahit buking na rin mismo ng Pangulo ang kalokohan, sige pa rin ang pagpapasasa ng BGC Boys sa pagwawaldas ng pera ng taong bayan,” Lacson said.
The senator’s office uncovered hundreds of pages of documents revealing rigged bidding procedures, impossible project timelines, falsified progress reports, and forged official records.
“These are not clerical errors; these are fingerprints of a system perfected over the years to pocket billions of funds,” Lacson said, who submitted the group’s name and aliases to the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
Suspicious Timelines
Aside from that, Lacson also disclosed that SYMS Construction secured a P92.58-million contract on December 17, 2024. Yet, the swift advancement they reported raises doubts.
Only two days after the award, the company claimed 46 percent completion and got its initial payment that same month. By March 2025, having asserted 89 percent completion, they received a second disbursement.
Lacson also mentioned that the Bulacan First District Engineering Office approved these reports even though they included repeated photos of the project. His team visited the site and discovered the work remained incomplete.
“SYMS Construction seems to be complicit sa broad daylight robbery na ito – not once, but twice,” he said.
IM Construction Corporation was paid four times for a P92.5-million flood gate and pumping station project despite submitting repeated photos in their progress reports.
In two separate projects located in Calumpit, Bulacan, Lacson disclosed that his office secured letters from Wawao Builders Manager Mark Allan Arevalo, confirming the company was named the winning bidder even before the official award notice was issued.
Lacson also mentioned that the firm claimed 50 percent project completion barely more than a week after receiving the go-ahead.
Currently, senators are probing whether DPWH officials connected to these suspicious flood control projects engaged in money laundering linked to their gambling activities at casinos.
