Tarlac Mayor Tied to Asphalt Scandal Involving Husband’s Firm, Double Payments
A COA audit has linked Tarlac Mayor Maria Cristina C. Angeles to a series of irregularities in multimillion-peso asphalting projects, including unauthorized contracts, double payments, and conflict of interest involving her husband’s firm.
Fraud Audit Report No. 2025-003 revealed that road projects were implemented without the required authorization from the Sangguniang Panglungsod. Auditors also flagged double payments for overlapping portions of asphalt work, resulting in unjustified disbursements.
In a major ethical breach, the City Government sourced construction materials from Northern Builders, a company owned by Mayor Angeles’ spouse. COA said that this conflict of interest casts a shadow over the entire procurement process.
Moreover, check payments totaling ₱21.23 million were released even before the preparation of official disbursement vouchers, which COA noted as a hallmark of potentially fraudulent transactions.
The mayor was also tied to another questionable project, a ₱41.2 million solid waste hauling contract flagged by COA as disadvantageous to the government. The audit revealed that the pre-procurement conference appeared to be fabricated, with an attendance sheet dated a year after the supposed meeting. The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) further failed to evaluate documents properly, awarding the contract to a supplier that lacked the required technical qualifications.
COA concluded that the city government extended unwarranted benefits to the ineligible supplier and directly held Mayor Angeles liable for approving the irregular procurement.
The report called on appropriate agencies to investigate the mayor and city officials involved for possible legal and administrative sanctions.
