PHILIPPINE Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) Executive Director Herbert Matienzo has stepped down from his post.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Cristina Roque said Matienzo submitted his resignation Wednesday, September 3, 2025.
“His reason for resigning is ‘personal,’” said Matienzo.
Among the marching orders of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to newly appointed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon and the DTI is to conduct a “sweeping revamp” at the PCAB.
The PCAB is a government agency under the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP), which is attached to the DTI.
Its primary function is to regulate the construction industry in the Philippines by accrediting and licensing contractors.
On Wednesday, Roque said she has placed the CIAP and the PCAB under her direct supervision.
She also ordered the creation of a fact-finding team to investigate the PCAB following allegations of conflicts of interest, accreditation irregularities, and possible abuses of authority amid the ongoing probe into flood control project anomalies.
Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson earlier bared several dubious practices at the PCAB, including the sale of accreditations, conflicts of interest involving at least two board members who own construction firms securing government contracts, and alleged extortion targeting contractors.
Lacson on Thursday, September 4, raised the need for a total overhaul of PCAB, in the wake of its role in the corruption behind substandard and ghost flood control projects.
“A complete overhaul of the PCAB board is in order at this point. The PCAB has been a low-key yet corrupt-ridden regulatory body which, in tandem with the Department of Public Works and Highways has methodically punched us in the gut, providing the first of a one-two punch thus knocking out our hard earned tax payments,” Lacson said.
Amid the government investigation into anomalous flood control projects, the PCAB revoked the licenses of construction firms owned by Sarah and Pacifico Discaya, who were among those linked to irregularities in flood-mitigation programs.
Alpha and Omega Construction
St. Timothy Construction
St. Gerrard Construction
Elite General Contractor and Development Corp
St. Matthew General Contractor & Development
Great Pacific Builders and General Contractor
YPR General Contractor and Construction Supply
Amethyst Horizon Builders and General Contractor & Dev’t Corp.
Way Maker OPC
(TPM/SunStar Philippines)