Bulacan DPWH execs feel heat over ‘ghost projects’
All the 10 officials of a Bulacan district office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) who have been placed on “floating status” for alleged irregular flood control projects could face charges if their explanations are “not convincing,” Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan said on Friday.
In a phone interview with the Inquirer, Bonoan said the officials were not fired but were relieved of their duties three weeks earlier pending investigation of the “ghost projects” under the 1st District Engineering Office of the DPWH in the province.
The private contractors who won the bids to build the flood control projects also face sanctions, he added.
“Ghost projects” are those that exist only on paper. These infrastructures had either never been built or left unfinished or abandoned but reported as “completed” and paid for.
Bonoan said that the officials were not fired but were placed on “floating status for the time being.”
“They will be charged. We’re just collating the documents,” he said. “I gave them three days to explain, and if we find it not convincing, we have to file the necessary charges.”
Bonoan did not say what might be the charges.
Although scrutiny of flood control projects intensified following President Marcos’ State of the Nation Address (Sona) last month, he said Mr. Marcos already had information on the irregularities prior to his speech and this was what prompted the relief of the 10 officials.
“There are findings or information about what is happening with the projects in their district office,” Bonoan said.
On Wednesday, the President inspected a flood control project that was supposed to have been completed in Purok 4, Barangay Piel, in Baliwag, Bulacan.
He said he was angered by what he saw.
What looked like an unfinished concrete fence with some steel bars sticking out was all that the P55.7-million project could show for the supposed robust 220-meter river wall, nearly as long as eight basketball courts lined up end to end.
Among those relieved were former district engineer Henry Alcantara and newly appointed district engineer Brice Hernandez. Alcantara’s relief came after he had been recommended for the position of assistant regional director of DPWH Region 4-A.
In a privilege speech on Wednesday, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said that according to his staff, Alcantara and Hernandez “share the same love for money.” One of them reportedly lost “hundreds of millions in a casino here in Manila” recently, he said.
Lacson said the 1st District Engineering Office of Bulacan under the leadership of the two officials had 28 flood control projects in 2024, each worth P72 million.
In the same speech, he said there was a “ghost flood control project” in Sitio Dike, along the Mag-asawang Tubig River in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
The project had a contract price of P192.9 million and was already declared completed, but upon inspection by his team, it was found to be nonexistent, Lacson said.
No dismissals
Bonoan said an investigation of that alleged bogus flood control project was ongoing. No officials have been dismissed so far, he added.
Bonoan said the feedback he received about the Naujan project was that it was damaged and that the contractor had the responsibility to rehabilitate or redo the work.
The ongoing scrutiny into flood control projects in the country stemmed from Mr. Marcos’ warning in his recent Sona that those involved in corruption-tainted projects would be held accountable.
Two weeks later, he launched the sumbongsapangulo.ph website, where he encouraged the public to report questionable flood prevention projects in their areas.
Marcos also revealed that around 60 percent of all flood control projects since 2022 either lacked clear descriptions or had the same contract price despite being located in different areas.
He also disclosed that 15 contractors accounted for 20 percent of all flood-control projects nationwide amounting to a total P545 billion in project cost. This is an average of P7.3 billion in awarded contracts per contractor.
Floating status
The DPWH regional office has been overseeing its Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office since the officials were relieved, Bonoan said.
DPWH Region 3 construction division chief Jayson Jauco has been designated officer in charge district engineer of the office since Aug. 11 while retaining his regional post. Anatolio Mendiola Jr. serves as the assistant district engineer.
Jauco replaced Hernandez, who was appointed only in June.
The others who were placed on floating status include officer in charge assistant district engineer Jaypee Mendoza; planning and design section chief Ernesto Galang; construction section chief John Michael Ramos; quality assurance section chief Norberto Santos; maintenance section chief Jaime Hernandez; human resource and administrative section chief Floralyn Simbulan; and finance section chief Juanito Mendoza.
The Bulacan first district engineering office oversees infrastructure in the towns of Calumpit, Hagonoy, Paombong, Malolos, Obando, Bulakan, Pulilan, Plaridel, Bustos, Guiguinto, Balagtas, Bocaue and Baliwag. Many of these towns were placed under a state of calamity during the recent storms and the southwest monsoon.
The exposure of alleged irregular flood control projects have also ignited calls for Bonoan’s resignation, but the public works chief said he would not step down and would pursue the investigation of the irregularities.
“Well, as I said, my tenure is at the pleasure of the President,” he said in an interview with radio station dzMM.
“He told me to continue the investigation that I’m doing,” Bonoan added.
Speculation about Bonoan’s future at the DPWH heightened after ex-Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, who served under the late President Benigno Aquino III, admitted that he had received feelers from Malacañang to return to the post.
Mayors’ group statement
There had also been discussions on the need for an integrated water resources management program to help control flooding.
But Singson quickly brushed off the idea of returning to the DPWH.
“I think that’s far-fetched because my wife will leave me already if I go back to government,” he said.
The League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), composed of 149 city mayors, on Friday called for transparency and accountability in the government’s review of the flood control projects.
LCP president and San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said the league fully supported the ongoing investigation of the alleged ghost flood control projects.
‘Alarming events’
“We, city mayors, have witnessed firsthand these alarming events that cause our constituents to suffer—from loss of life and livelihood to disruptions in children’s education, as well as increased health risks, such as leptospirosis, brought about by unmitigated flooding,” Zamora said in a statement.
The LCP urged concerned agencies in the national government to “cooperate fully and report truthfully” the real state of these infrastructure projects.
“It is imperative to put an end to corrupt and ineffective practices and instead pursue long-term solutions to flooding that are both effective and sustainable,” he said.
“Science and technology already offer viable strategies, particularly when aligned with climate change adaptation and sound city planning,” Zamora added. —WITH REPORTS FROM MARY JOY SALCEDO, CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE AND INQUIRER RESEARCH
