ANTIQUE — Former Antique governor Rhodora J. Cadiao has been named among those liable by the Commission on Audit (COA) in a Notice of Disallowance ordering the return of P362.4 million in public funds released for the construction of the Antique Government Center. State auditors described the payment as an “illegal transaction” arising from the project’s alleged lack of a valid building permit.
The Government Center is situated on irrigated land that requires clearances from the National Irrigation Administration, Department of Agrarian Reform, and Department of Agriculture for land conversion. These clearances are prerequisites for the issuance of a building permit by the Office of the Building Official (OBO) of the local government of San Jose de Buenavista.
In Notice of Disallowance No. 2026-001-101(25) dated June 10, 2026, COA said it audited the payment for the first progress billing corresponding to 40.076 percent of work accomplished for the Design and Build Construction of the Solar-Powered Antique Government Center in Barangay Badiang, San Jose, Antique. The audit covered a payment of P265,768,693.82 released to contractor F. Gurrea Construction, Inc.
COA disallowed a total of P362,411,924.66, stating in the notice that the amount “was disallowed in audit because the construction commenced without a valid building permit in violation of Section 301 of Presidential Decree No. 1096, otherwise known as the National Building Code of the Philippines.”
The COA Notice of Disallowance further stated: “This constitutes an illegal transaction as defined under Section 3.3 of COA Circular No. 2012-003.”
Cadiao could not be reached for comment as of this writing.
COA auditors computed the disallowed amount by adding the project’s warranty retention and recoupment of advance payment to the net amount paid, resulting in a total audit disallowance of more than P362 million.
The Notice of Disallowance identified Cadiao and F. Gurrea Construction as liable for the payment of the first progress billing and for the approval of the contractor’s request that allowed the continuation of construction despite the absence of a building permit while the permit application was still being processed.
F. Gurrea Construction, Inc., meanwhile, was cited by the COA notice for having received payment for the first progress billing and for having commenced and continued construction works despite the absence of the required building permit.
“Please direct the aforementioned persons liable to settle immediately the said disallowance,” the COA notice stated.
F. Gurrea Construction, Inc. could not be reached for comment as of this writing.
COA further warned that “audit disallowances not appealed within six (6) months from receipt hereof shall become final and executory” pursuant to existing laws and regulations.
The audit findings have fueled intensified scrutiny over the release of hundreds of millions of pesos in public funds for a project that auditors said proceeded without a valid permit.
The Notice of Disallowance does not by itself establish criminal liability. However, legal observers note that the findings could become part of future investigations to determine whether offenses such as malversation of public funds, graft, or other fraudulent transactions may have been committed.
In a June 3, 2025 project update, the Provincial Engineer’s Office reported that the government center had reached 55.04 percent completion. However, on June 20, 2025, the OBO of the Municipality of San Jose de Buenavista issued a Work Stoppage Order against the project for violation of Section 301 of the National Building Code of the Philippines (Presidential Decree No. 1096) due to the absence of a required building permit.
Prior to this, the OBO issued three Notices of Violation dated May 2, 2024, May 6, 2024, and June 14, 2024, which preceded the stoppage order. The work stoppage order appears to support COA’s finding that the Antique Government Center project commenced and continued construction without a valid building permit, which auditors cited as the basis for disallowing P362.4 million in project-related payments and classifying the transaction as illegal underexisting audit rules./PN
