Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan District Engineer Henry Alcantara revealed that Commission on Audit (COA) Commissioner Mario Lipana allegedly received kickbacks from 2023 to 2025. It was further disclosed that Commissioner Lipana’s wife, Marilou, is an active government contractor who secured several projects—raising even more suspicion, especially since both hail from Bulacan.
In a radio interview on September 25, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, said he intends to look deeper into the matter after seeing several “red flags” based on Engineer Alcantara’s testimony. Alcantara claimed he was contacted and visited three times by Commissioner Lipana, who requested a list of projects.
“Ano ba ito komisyon? o audit? Ganun ba yun? Kapag hindi ka nagbigay ng komisyon ay i-aaudit ka, kapag may komisyon ay wala nang audit. Yun ang conflict of interest. Lalo na misis niya ang contractor,” Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan underscored how problematic it would be if it were proven that Marilou Lipana was involved in substandard or ghost projects. He noted that this would suggest the wife of the COA commissioner was not subjected to proper auditing, which could amount to an impeachable offense for Commissioner Lipana.
“These are valid questions na kinakailangang magpaliwanag si Commissioner Lipana,” Kiko said.
The senator also urged the COA to investigate all districts with controversial flood control projects.
“Kailangan magpaliwanag ng mga auditors ng mga rehiyon at distrito na meron flood control controversies—Mindoro, Tarlac, Pampanga, at ilan pang mga lugar na nabanggit (sa exposé).”
Pangilinan reminded the public and authorities to be prudent in weighing the evidence, stressing that some testimonies could be fabricated or misleading.
“Kasi may mga ebidensya rin na gawa gawa kaya kailangan busisiin ng husto. May mga ebidensya na half truth at hindi whole truth. We have to weigh his testimony carefully,” he added.
Despite the overwhelming information and testimonies, the senator emphasized his focus on uncovering the truth—echoing the sentiments of millions of Filipinos.
“Ang gusto natin walang cover up. Ang gusto natin katotohanan. At yun din, hindi papayag ang taumbayan sa cover up and hindi papayag ang taumbayan na nililihis ang katotohanan.”
Pangilinan stressed that the fight against corruption ultimately rests on the strength of the justice system. The lawyer-senator noted that if the judiciary had imposed harsher penalties instead of acquitting those in past plunder cases, such as the Napoles scandal, millions of Filipinos might not have been robbed in what is now considered the country’s biggest corruption scandal involving flood control projects.
“Tulad ng sinasabi rin ng ating mga kababayan eh wala naman nakukulong, wala naman napaparusahan, at ang agam agam nila kung ganoon ang nangyayari sa nakaraan eh baka ganon din ang mangyayari dito,” he said. “Rebolusyon na ang magiging resulta. Aaklas na kapag nakita nila ‘di nagreresponde ang justice system,” Pangilinan stressed.