THIRTEEN suspended infrastructure projects in Cebu Province have been terminated due to construction delays and right-of-way problems, Governor Pamela Baricuatro announced on Wednesday, September 24, 2025.
“Last time, we decided to give the go signal for about 70 projects to proceed. Now, 13 have been terminated — 10 of these due to a negative 15 percent slippage and three because of right-of-way issues,” Baricuatro told reporters at the Capitol.
Slippage, right of way
Of the 13 projects, 10 were terminated after incurring at least a negative 15 percent slippage, while three were halted because of right-of-way problems.
In government infrastructure, slippage refers to the variance between the planned and actual progress of a project. A negative slippage means the contractor has fallen behind schedule — for example, a negative 15 percent slippage indicates that the project is 15 percent behind its target accomplishment at a given point in time.
Baricuatro added that contractors behind these projects may face blacklisting.
“Most definitely, ma-blocklist gyud ni mga contractors,” she said.
However, when asked to name the contractors, she declined.
According to Baricuatro, the 13 terminated projects will be up for rebidding.
Terminated projects
The terminated projects include:
Road concreting in Daanbantayan, San Francisco in Camotes, Dalaguete, and Dumanjug
Multi-purpose buildings in Aloguinsan, Toledo, and Pinamungajan
Solar lamp post projects in Mandaue, Cordova, and Consolacion
Each of the project's cost ranged from P1.1 million to P5.9 million.
These were part of 154 provincial infrastructure projects suspended by the Capitol on August 22 to allow for a full audit and compliance review.
Memorandum and audit
Baricuatro’s memorandum was issued on July 28, but the suspension took effect on August 22.
Of the total suspended projects, 140 fall under the Provincial Engineering Office’s construction division, while 14 are under its waterworks division.
On September 4, the Capitol discovered that two SBK bulk water projects were linked to the controversial Discayas.
While clarifying on September 10 that the Cebu Provincial Government has no flood control projects, Baricuatro said the suspension was necessary to prevent “substandard” work that could cause bigger problems.
On September 11, she cleared 77 projects to resume, including the Malabuyoc bulk water project of SBK Construction Inc. in joint venture with St. Gerard Construction, owned by Cezarah Rowena “Sarah” Discaya, who faces investigations over alleged anomalous flood control projects.
Provincial Engineer Hector Jamora said the Malabuyoc project, now 86 percent complete, only awaits power supply from Cebeco 1 and may operate by year-end. Meanwhile, SBK’s Alegria bulk water project remains suspended after the Discayas’ license was revoked, with just 18 percent accomplished.
Baricuatro said the review of projects was necessary to ensure accountability and safeguard the public from defective infrastructure. (CDF)