A HOUSING project for over a hundred displaced urban poor families in Barangay Lorega-San Miguel, Cebu City, needs millions of pesos more to complete after its contractor stopped work over unpaid billings.
The Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) reported during an executive session on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, that 119 families meant for the Lorega San Miguel Tenement Housing Project are still awaiting its completion.
To complete the project, the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) has proposed an additional P109 million to be taken from the City’s project “savings.”
Councilors revisited long-standing issues on funding, design, and implementation that have delayed the project since 2020.
They demanded complete documentation, from billing records to termination reports, before approving the additional funding.
The construction of a medium-rise building (MRB) in the barangay began on Nov. 3, 2020, under a P227.5-million contract, and was originally set for completion by Sept. 30, 2022.
However, the project was terminated on June 7, 2023, after incurring about 52 percent negative slippage, with only 48 percent accomplishment recorded.
Records showed that P133.54 million had already been paid to the contractor, CB Garay Philwide Builders. Yet construction stalled leaving the site exposed.
The site is part of a twin-housing project. The other building, constructed by private developer Cebu Landmasters Inc., is already complete and fully occupied — a sharp contrast to the City’s failed project.
After the project’s termination, City Hall retrieved P118.37 million.
The DEPW said the new P109 million allocation will cover the remaining works under the existing design, which follows a design-and-build scheme.
During the session, DEPW project manager Ruel Tahom told the City Council that the contractor halted operations pending the payment of previous progress billings and the approval of project revisions.
Tahom said the contractor had requested a suspension order until its progress billing was settled, but the request was not granted by the City’s engineering officials.
Contractor’s failure
City Hall maintains work was stopped due to the contractor’s failure to meet performance milestones and address deficiencies found during inspections.
However, Councilor Harold Go questioned whether City Hall also contributed to the delay by failing to expedite payment.
Go said if the contractor was indeed at fault, the City could pursue liquidated damages; but if the process itself caused delays, the council might consider procedural reforms.
DEPW Acting Assistant Chief Maria Lilibeh Delmar had received a 15 percent mobilization payment of P34.1 million, followed by two progress billings amounting to 20.39 percent and 43.70 percent of the project cost.
Delmar showed the council photos of corroded beams, unfinished columns, and debris-filled tanks, suggesting the actual work fell short of the progress billing percentages.
Delmar said the City must first evaluate the structural integrity of the existing framework before any continuation can proceed, especially since the buildings have been idle for years and exposed to the elements.
Delmar added the council must also first declare the P109 million as savings.
She said a necessary requisite is the computation of liquidated damages against the contractor, which was missing from the verified report.
Go, on the other hand, proposed the contractor be summoned to provide clarifications before proceeding to the next phase of the project.
The project is aimed to help urban poor families and informal settlers have a chance to own a home.
Citing a 2023 resolution from the Local Housing Board, DWUP Officer-in-Charge Mary Joan Loreto said the project must be completed “regardless of which contractor finishes the work.”
The socialized housing project for the underprivileged was designed as a five-story ‘green building’ that can accommodate about 170 families. It has allotted spaces for a healthcare center, training center, and daycare center. / EHP