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DPWH finds 421 ‘ghosts’ in 8,000 flood projects
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has identified 421 'ghost' flood control projects out of an initial 8,000 inspected nationwide.
These inspections were carried out by the Department of National Defense, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, and the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development.
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon reported these initial findings, noting that some of these phantom projects were linked to contractors previously involved in other irregular flood control projects.
The ghost projects were found across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, with a considerable concentration in Luzon.
Dizon stressed that these are only initial figures, as around 100,000 projects still need to be validated.
Congressional probes and surprise ocular inspections by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. have previously pointed to non-existent flood control projects, particularly in Bulacan.
The Commission on Audit has also submitted fraud audit reports to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), flagging alleged anomalous flood control projects in Bulacan.
The ICI recommended that the DPWH reduce the spending authority of its regional and district offices for civil works projects from P400 million to P200 million.
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The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has identified 421 "ghost" infrastructure projects nationwide after auditing approximately 8,000 public works.
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More than 8,000 infrastructure projects nationwide have been physically inspected by personnel from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DepDev), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and Philippine National Police (PNP).
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The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged P351 million in flood control projects in Bulacan for being non-existent or substandard, according to four new fraud audit reports.
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Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson suggests that it is more apt to ask "who is not guilty of corruption" rather than "who is guilty" given the extensive corruption in the government's infrastructure programs.
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A study by UP-NCPAG revealed that over P115 billion has been allocated for "shadow" flood control projects in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which fall outside the official Flood Management Program (FMMP).
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