PCAB executive director resigns amid ‘sweeping revamp’

PHILIPPINE Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) Executive Director, lawyer Herbert Matienzo, has resigned from his position due to “personal reasons,” according to Trade Secretary Cristina Roque.

Roque confirmed that she accepted Matienzo’s resignation on September 3 and has appointed an Officer-in-Charge Executive Director, whose name will be announced shortly.

Matienzo’s resignation comes amidst President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order for a “sweeping revamp” of PCAB, the agency responsible for issuing licenses to construction firms participating in infrastructure project bidding.

This directive was announced by newly installed Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, signaling a renewed focus on transparency and accountability within the construction industry.

On the same day as Matienzo’s resignation, PCAB approved Board Resolution No. 075, revoking the contractors’ licenses of nine companies owned or controlled by businesswoman Sarah Discaya, who is currently under scrutiny for alleged involvement in anomalous flood-control projects.

PCAB cited Discaya’s “presence of collusion, employing schemes that stifle or suppress the outcome of the procurement activity in violation of licensing and procurement laws,” as the reason for the revocation, based on her testimony during the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on September 1.

The revoked licenses include those of St. Gerrard Construction Gen. Contractor & Dev’t Corporation, Alpha & Omega Gen. Contractor & Dev’t Corporation, and several other firms allegedly linked to Discaya.