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A businessman close to the Dutertes cornered most of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control projects in the Davao Region, Rappler has learned.
Genesis88 Construction Inc. (Genesis88), owned by Duterte-time presidential assistant for sports Glenn Escandor, bagged almost P2.9-billion (or P2,890,690,550.13) worth of contracts for flood control infrastructure, based on figures available on the Sumbong sa Pangulo website.
This translates to a total of 35 projects — solo contracting and joint ventures (JV) with other firms included — in the region. In comparison, most of the other construction firms bagged only around one to five projects each. These projects were also found in Davao City.
In the city, Genesis88 bagged around 25% or 35 out of 136 flood control projects, based on Rappler’s count. This represents around 1 in 4 flood projects in the Dutertes’ turf.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte picked Escandor to be his assistant for sports shortly after his election as the 16th president. SPIN reported in 2016 that Escandor was a “longtime sports consultant of Duterte during his term as mayor of Davao City and private partner in many sports undertakings.”
But Escandor’s ties with the former president and the Duterte family go deeper than that.
“Ay, ay very close ‘yan sila actually. Originally, ‘yong father niya, si Colonel [Emilio] Escandor at saka si Digong, ang very close…. Tapos later on, si Pulong na naman at saka si Glenn ang naging friends,” a source who was close to the Escandors told Rappler. (They are very close. Escandor’s father, Colonel Escandor and Digong were very close. Then later on, Pulong and Glenn became friends.)
It’s known within Davao City that Escandor and Representative Duterte share close. This was confirmed to Rappler by another source. A third source confirmed to Rappler that the relationship between the Escandors and the Dutertes indeed goes a long way back.
In 2017, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV accused Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte and Escandor of being allegedly involved in smuggling. The former president then defended his son, daring critics to prove that he was behind the smuggling of ukay-ukay (used clothing). The then-chief executive said he would resign if his son was proven guilty.
“I have yet to see nor hear about your story involving Genesis 88 construction… And because of that I cannot comment about it,” Representative Duterte initially told Rappler when sought for comment.
Another proof of the two families’ close ties was through Escandor Development Corporation (ESDEVCO), a corporation based in Davao City run by the Escandor family.
This corporation had donated P19.923 million for the ads of Vice President Sara Duterte during the 2022 national elections, based on the Vice President’s Statement of Contributions and Expenditures seen by Rappler.
The businessman’s family also owns The Royal Mandaya Hotel and the Matina Enclaves Residences, which is a mixed-use development in the city.
After Duterte’s election in 2016, the clubhouse located within the enclaves served as a literal seat of power in the Mindanaoan city. It was where Duterte held his first meetings as president, and the place where he announced his first batch of Cabinet appointments.
Duterte and his staff also used The Royal Mandaya Hotel for their operations and events, reportedly free of charge due to closeness between the Escandors and the Dutertes.
Rappler has sent letters to Escandor’s Genesis88 and ESDEVCO firm to request for an interview or comments for this story. The reporter did the same to the Office of the Vice President.
We have followed up our interview request with Escandor’s firms via email, text message, and phone calls multiple times. We also sent a request via the Vice President’s online scheduling system, on top of the letters sent to her communications team.
We will update this story once we receive a response from them.
Top flood project contractor
Genesis88’s projects were contracted between 2021 to 2023, covering the term of Representative Duterte as lawmaker. Coincidentally, 30 of these projects were built in Davao City’s 1st District (Paolo’s territory), based on data from the DPWH.
Genesis88 bagged 28 of the projects on its own amounting to over P2 billion (P2,070,271,100). In the remaining seven out of the 35 projects, the firm entered into JVs with the following firms:
- Abu Construction
- Agong Builders and Construction Supply, Inc.
- Gemma Construction Supply, Inc.
The Escandor-owned firm edged out Legacy Construction Corporation — the top flood contractor in the entire Philippines — in the Davao Region. Unlike Genesis88, Legacy was among the top 15 contractors that cornered 1 of 5 flood control projects nationwide.
Solo contracting and JV combined, Legacy was a far second placer to Genesis88 with almost P1.3 billion worth of contracts (P1,286,608,234) or 18 projects in total. This is less than half the amount of contracts secured by the Escandor firm.
Rosbill Construction and Supply and Abu Construction were at the third and fourth spots, with P1.2 billion (P1,195,721,824; 18 projects) and P1.1 billion (P1,087,891,163; 14 projects), respectively.
Completing the top five was Rely Construction and Supply Inc. with 15 projects amounting to P1 billion (P1,009,509,927). Alpha and Omega Gen. Contractor and Development Corp, owned by the controversial Discaya couple, was at sixth with 11 projects worth P900 million (P907,718,793).
The rise
Escandor’s Genesis88 was incorporated in 2018, according to the firm’s articles of incorporation obtained from the Securities and Exchange Commission. It holds a type “A” license from the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB), which means it can handle projects up to P150 million.
In terms of all types of projects with the DPWH, Genesis88 is not among the top firms in the region. But since 2018, it has been bagging a decent amount of contracts every year.
The firm bagged over P289 million (P289,500,000) worth of projects during its first year, but none in the following year. Then it started bagging billions in contracts between 2021 and 2024. Its best year so far was 2022 with P1.8 billion-plus (or P1,868,229,061.22).
From 2018 to the present, the firm has already bagged over P6.8 billion (P6,884,194,257) in contracts.
The firm listed Escandor as among its incorporators, along with wife Michelle Anne, and daughters Irra Zarina and Inna Melissa.
Based on the firm’s 2025 general information sheet, Escandor is the CEO while his wife serves as the Chief Finance Officer. Escandor owns 55% of Genesis88, which is now worth P27.5 million.
SEC/ScreenshotThe lone person in the board who is not an Escandor is Saturnino Bentulan, who holds a 1% share. He is also listed as the company’s authorized managing officer (AMO) before the PCAB and represents Genesis88 in DPWH contracts.
As the AMO, Bentulan transacts with the DPWH on behalf of Genesis88. – Rappler.com
