Flood of Filth: MG Samidan’s ₱5 Billion Heist Soaks the Philippines in Corruption

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — August 18, 2025

IN THE Philippines, where typhoons turn homes into wreckage and hope into mud, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has mastered the art of pouring concrete where floods don’t strike. Enter MG Samidan Construction, a sham outfit with a pathetic ₱250,000 in capital—barely enough for a Manila street stall—that somehow snatched ₱5 billion in flood control contracts. This isn’t a startup success story; it’s a sickening rerun of the Pharmally scandal, trading face shields for concrete and fraud for kickbacks. While Cagayan’s typhoon victims slog through flooded despair, the Samidans are stacking cash, building empires on stolen public funds.

Chasing the Cash: A Shameless Shell Game Exposed

How does a company, born in 2019 with less capital than a used car, become the 12th-largest contractor in a drowning nation? MG Samidan, nestled in the obscure hills of Sinto, Bauko, Mountain Province, didn’t earn ₱5 billion through skill or sweat. They likely rigged the game with falsified financials, puffed-up Net Financial Contracting Capacity (NFCC), and a nod from DPWH insiders. Seven identical ₱96.5 million contracts across Abra, Benguet, and Mountain Province scream bid rigging—a blatant violation of Republic Act (RA) 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act. This isn’t coincidence; it’s theft with a paper trail.

The political grease is impossible to miss. Thirty-five of Samidan’s 58 projects clog Abra, a province with “little to no” flood risk, per UP NOAH’s geohazard maps. What luck! Abra just happens to be the turf of powerbrokers like Rep. Joseph “JB” Bernos and former Gov. Vicente Isidro Valera, whose shadows loom over the Cordillera. Social media swirls with claims of their ties to the Samidans, pointing to a patronage network that funnels contracts to loyalists. DPWH regional directors, like Region 1’s Ronnel Tan, have admitted to “standardized” project budgets—code for rigging deals for favored firms. This isn’t a mistake; it’s a heist orchestrated by local warlords and complicit bureaucrats.

Legal Slaughter: Laws Trampled, Accountability AWOL

The Samidan scam spits on a stack of laws. RA 9184 demands competitive bidding and financial vetting, yet Samidan’s ₱250,000 capital—a 20,000-fold gap with its contracts—slipped through DPWH’s porous filters. RA 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, bans manifest partiality and grossly disadvantageous contracts; Samidan checks both boxes. If kickbacks top ₱50 million, RA 7080’s Plunder Law looms, promising life imprisonment. The Pharmally case, where a thinly capitalized firm faced Ombudsman probes for ₱11 billion in shady deals, sets the stage: courts can convict for such flagrant fraud.

Ombudsman v. Valeroso (G.R. 185996, 2015) confirms that officials greenlighting rigged contracts face graft charges, no matter how neat the paperwork.

Where’s the oversight? The Commission on Audit (COA) is deafeningly silent, despite its duty to flag anomalies. The Ombudsman, tasked with rooting out graft, seems to be hitting snooze. DPWH’s excuse—“the paperwork was compliant!”—is as absurd as Bernie Madoff claiming his books balanced. Compliance doesn’t mask the stench of 35 projects in flood-free Abra or the farce of identical contract prices. If this were Zimbabwe, we’d call it kleptocracy. In the Philippines, it’s just another Tuesday.

Rotten to the Core: Pork Barrel Reborn in Concrete

The Samidan scandal isn’t a lone crook; it’s a symptom of a diseased system. Flood control projects are the new pork barrel, a goldmine for politicians and contractors to plunder under the pretext of disaster relief. President Marcos’ admission that 15 contractors, including Samidan, nabbed ₱100 billion—18% of the ₱545 billion flood control budget—exposes a cartel strangling public funds. Meanwhile, real flood zones like Pampanga and Metro Manila rot, with only 2 of 36 pumping stations rehabbed despite a $415 million World Bank loan.

The contrast is sickening: Cagayan’s typhoon victims beg for rice, while Samidan’s gleaming trucks cruise Abra’s dry roads. This is Pharmally 2.0, a system where the Samidans don’t just exploit the rules—they are the rules. Congressional insertions, greased by lawmakers like Ako Bicol’s Zaldy Co, channel projects to cronies. DPWH’s regional offices, steeped in patronage, rubber-stamp deals. The result? Ghost projects, overpriced materials, and shoddy work that collapses when typhoons like Carina strike. Marcos’ audit order is a step, but it risks exposing his own allies—a political grenade.

Rallying Cry: Drain the Corruption Swamp

The Samidans and their enablers must face justice. The Ombudsman should slam them with plunder and graft charges, targeting not just the family but DPWH officials and politicians like Bernos and Valera. COA must audit every peso of the ₱5 billion, using drones and LiDAR to confirm project existence. The Government Procurement Policy Board should blacklist Samidan under RA 9184’s Section 69 and yank its PCAB license.

Systemic overhaul is urgent. Amend RA 9184 to enforce capital thresholds—10% of contract value—and mandate UP NOAH clearance for flood projects. Ban project splitting, enforce blockchain transparency in PhilGEPS, and jail bid-riggers. Install QR-coded project markers for citizen reporting. Congress must ax budget insertions, the ghost of pork barrel past.

The DPWH’s real motto:

“We don’t stop floods—we fund them.”

The only thing these “flood controls” divert is public money into private pockets. Until the Philippines purges this corruption, its people will drown—not just in floods, but in a system that robs them blind.

Key Citations

Inquirer Exposé on MG Samidan: Details the ₱5 billion contracts awarded to MG Samidan despite its ₱250,000 capital.
Inquirer, 2024: The ‘original sin’ in Pharmally deal – Precedent for graft charges against undercapitalized firms securing massive contracts.
RA 9184 – Government Procurement Reform Act: Legal framework for public bidding, violated by potential bid rigging.
RA 3019 – Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act: Prohibits partiality and disadvantageous contracts, applicable to Samidan’s deals.
RA 7080 – Plunder Law: Applies if kickbacks exceed ₱50 million, carrying life imprisonment.
Ombudsman v. Valeroso (G.R. 185996, 2015): Upholds graft convictions for rigged contract awards.
UP NOAH Geohazard Maps: Confirms Abra’s low flood risk, questioning project necessity.
Al Jazeera, 2024: Battered by typhoons: Why aren’t Philippine flood control projects working? – Highlights mismanagement of flood infrastructure funds.