IN HIS inspection of fractured infrastructure projects in Arayat town on Jan. 23, Public Works Sec. Vince Dizon did not come to Candating. So Candating came to him, if only to impact in the secretary its utmost gravity as much as a physical peril in the immediate vicinity as to the (un)seriousness of government in pursuing transparency and accountability in the flood control project controversies.
Not that the cracked and sinking slope protection of the Arnedo Dike in Barangay Cupang, and the as-yet-unfinished-after-so-many-years San Aguistin Norte Bridge were less worthy of the secretary’s inspection, but that Candating merited greater, if graver, concern.
Hence, mere hours after Dizon left town, what was supposed to have been completed repairs on the slope protection in Candating collapsed again, taking along its wake at least 16 houses, leaving the whole barangay terrified.
That Dizon did not even spare a peep at Candating speaks volumes, the site absent in his itinerary for the day absolutely droll.
‘Face of failed flood control projects’
While it has been the subject of sporadic reports in the local media as early as 2023 and getting full blown coverage in August 2024 when it sustained considerable damage at the onslaught of Super Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon, it was in August 2025 that the Candating flood control project was inflicted upon the national consciousness with Sen. Ping Lacson naming it as “the face of failed flood control projects,” evidenced by the year-after-year program for its rehabilitation uniformly pegged at P100 million, its contract price as uniformly tagged at P91 million, its contracts as uniformly awarded to Eddmari Construction and Trading Corp. from the original P20 million for the project in 2018, ballooning to over P274.8 million in repeated repairs, and still, as uniformly, collapsing.
Dizon could have taken the cue from there, as indeed, he did as newly minted DPWH secretary.
‘Bunutin ang sheet piles’
It was only last Sept. 24, right atop the sunken, cracked slopes of the dike in Candating that Dizon, with then Independent Commission on Infrastructure special advisor Benjie Magalong in tow, famously cried out: “Bunutin ang sheet pile at magkaalaman kung 36 meters nga ba.”
Right to the face of Edgardo Sagum, owner of Eddmari Construction & Trading, Dizon damned the project as “substandard,” if only of it collapsing within a year of completion, not to mention a previous collapse even before a prior completion the year before. Seeing either faulty planning or flawed implementation as the cause, hence pulling out the sheet piles will provide the answer.
No, the sheet piles were never pulled, not for lack of trying – to be fair – but for “engineering” issues – soft ground unable to hold the weight of the crane to pull out the piles, the bottom ends of the sheet piles interlocked and welded together, absence of appropriate crane for the pullout – combined to make Dizon’s call as well shouted under the deeper waters of the Pampanga River.
Thereafter, we never read of Dizon making even but a casual inquiry on the Candating sheet piles. In all appearances, everything was left for Eddmari Construction to tie up the loose ends and mop up, in its own way, by its own means, unreported much less unchallenged. That is one all-too-red a flag to unsee. That, Dizon did not or chose not to even notice.
Case unclosed
A closed case Candating may have been to Dizon. No doubt given by his minions’ subservience, er, subscribing to some perceived full compliance of Eddmari Construction with the promised completion of repair in November 2025. The stillness pervading in Candating among residents and barangay officials, even of the local government unit, an evident acquiescence.
No, Dizon did not have to stand triumphantly on a repaired Candating flood control project, the media in tow, and hail it an exemplar of the “Build Better More” flagship infra program of the Marcos administration. Tooting his own trumpet is not in his character.
He would rather go to controversial infrastructures where he could push for results – and do his best at performative outrage, where he has had a rather successful run from the EDSA Busway to the Maharlika Highway, on to MacArthur Highway in Apalit, Arnedo Dike and San Agustin Norte Bridge in Arayat on Jan. 23. Only to be kicked off centerstage and put under the harshest limelight, so to speak, by the latest collapse of the slope protection in Candating.
In effect, the latest unraveling in Candating spells Dizon’s own undoing. His is now the body to the very face of failed flood control projects. That is following that other Lacson’s logic. Photos: Pampanga PIO, FB pages
