421 DPWH ‘ghost projects’ so far out of 8K checked
After just a month in office, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon on Thursday reported that out of the 8,000 flood control projects that were inspected across the country, at least 421 were non-existent.
Dizon took over the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) from Manuel Bonoan on Sept. 2 and immediately directed an investigation of irregularities and conducted field inspections with help from the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DepDev).
On Thursday, Dizon reported the findings to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), the fact-finding body created by President Marcos to look into the flood control anomalies.
“Initially, 8,000 projects nationwide were validated, and of these, 421 were identified as ghost projects by the AFP, PNP, and (DepDev),” Dizon said in a press conference after a closed-door meeting with ICI officials.
“This is just the initial phase, because there are so many. Hundreds of thousands of these projects still need to be validated,” he said.
He added that the number, which was just a small fraction of the total yet to be inspected, was what they had as of Oct. 6.
According to Dizon, these ghost projects are scattered across the country, with a significant number of them in Luzon.
Cops, military tapped
He declined to give details such as the costs of the projects, the locations and whether these had been fully paid by the government.
He said they also found some “substandard” projects, but gave no figure. “That’s still separate,” he said.
He also did not say whether the inspections found any incomplete projects.
Dizon said he did not want to disclose other details in order not to preempt the ICI investigation.
He said the police and the military were tapped for the physical and visual inspection of the supposed projects as they were already deployed in various locations around the country.
Dizon said the companies that were awarded the contracts included the top 15 in the country that came under scrutiny after the President said they accounted for P100 billion, or about 18 percent, of the P545-billion flood mitigation projects under his administration from July 2022 to May 2025.
But there were others as well, he added. “There are many of them,” Dizon said.
Data sets direction
ICI Executive Director Brian Keith Hosaka said the DPWH’s findings were helpful to the ongoing investigation.
“The direction provided by this data and information is significant, and we will look into it. If there are districts or regions we can review, we will visit them,” Hosaka said.
“As we move forward, we are gaining momentum. This process is accelerating. With the 421 ghost projects identified, it will make things easier,” he added.
He also noted that the new ICI Special Adviser and Investigator, former PNP Chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr., will personally inspect flood control sites nationwide. (See related story on page)
“These projects have already been validated, so that is significant. But it doesn’t prevent the general from inspecting them personally to ensure accuracy,” Hosaka said.
“Definitely, this is significant. We now have a starting point,” he added.
The Supreme Court is also doing its part in looking into the proper implementation of public works for the judiciary and one of the first steps it has taken is to make an inventory of these projects.
Reminders to Remulla
In a statement during the oathtaking of the new Ombudsman, Jesus Crispin Remulla, acting Chief Justice Marvic Leonen also said that the high court was implementing reforms to “ensure integrity” within the ranks of the judiciary.
“The Court en banc has also agreed to create a working committee to inventory any and all projects within the judiciary that might have been contracted to and undertaken by the DPWH if any and to report soonest to the Chief Justice as [to] their status,” said Leonen.
These projects consist largely of multi-purpose buildings or court houses, according to the DPWH.
Addressing Remulla, Leonen said that the judiciary would fulfill its part in supporting the new Ombudsman.
“Remember always: while we enjoy these temporary titles, we should do what we should,” he told Remulla.
“We trained for this. Your life, all your challenges, brought you to where you are now. I ask of you, do not fail our people. They continue to suffer,” he added.
Recent DOJ orders
Before assuming his new position, Remulla, as justice secretary, had initiated the prosecution of private contractors and government officials linked to billions of pesos worth of kickbacks from flood control projects.
The justice department has also directed, upon the request of the ICI, an immigration lookout bulletin order, an alert mechanism, to monitor the movement of individuals linked to the ongoing criminal investigations of the multi-billion-peso flood control scandal.
They include House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, Joel Villanueva and former Sen. Nancy Binay, and more than a dozen congressmen and former representatives. —WITH A REPORT FROM ZACARIAN SARAO
