Marcos Jr. eyes economic sabotage vs contractors of ghost projects

MANILA, Philippines —  A “very angry” and “more than disappointed” President Marcos vowed to file charges against the officials behind what he described as a “ghost” flood control project in Bulacan, and to ban the contractor who colluded with them. ?

Marcos inspected the P55.73-million reinforced concrete riverwall project in Baliuag City yesterday after receiving a report about a non-existent project through the website sumbongsapangulo.ph.

Records from the public works department show that the 220-meter project has been fully paid and has been completed as of last June, but what the President saw during his inspection revealed otherwise.

“We did not see even a single hollow block or a piece of cement. There is no equipment here. This is a ghost project. No work was done here,” the President told reporters following the inspection.

“More than disappointed. I’m actually… I’m getting very angry. This is what’s happening here,” he added.

According to Marcos, there was a falsification of public documents involved since it was reported that the project was already finished. ?“Clearly, it has not been completed… So, that’s already a very big violation. And for the big ones, I’m really thinking very hard... we will slap them with economic sabotage (charges),” he added.?In a Facebook post, the President said the reinforced concrete riverwall project was not included in the list of flood control projects submitted by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

“Why was it hidden? You are shameless,” he wrote.

“We will not let this pass. All officials who authorized this project and who colluded will be suspended and charged for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents.”

Blacklisted

Marcos also vowed to look into the other projects of its contractor, SYMS Construction Trading.

“The SYMS Construction Trading will immediately be blacklisted and will face charges under the Revised Penal Code and RA (Republic Act) 3019. We will find and investigate all its other projects,” he said.

The government urged the public to continue sending reports about substandard, non-existent and anomalous projects through the sumbongsapangulo.ph. ?“Together, let us put an end to corruption and ensure that the money of the people will go to projects that are for the people,” the Chief Executive said.

Marcos explained that some contractors sell their contracts to subcontractors, which would then decide whether to carry out the project. Some of the projects end up being substandard or neglected.?“We will keep going. The investigation is ongoing. We are studying everything. We are looking at the reports submitted to us. And we will not stop. We will keep going until we identify and file charges against the contractors who secured the deal,” he said.

Last week, Marcos also inspected flood control projects in Jaro, Iloilo and Calumpit, Bulacan.

During his fourth State of the Nation Address last month, Marcos assailed government personnel who benefitted from substandard and ghost flood control projects, saying they brought suffering to communities hit by cyclones.

Earlier this month, Marcos disclosed that about 20 percent of the P545.64-billion budget for flood control projects as of July 22 were awarded to just 15 contractors. He added that more than 6,000 projects do not have specifics on the nature of the construction works they covered.

The President also cited the presence of projects in different locations with exactly the same contract costs and the seeming mismatch between regions with the most number of projects and the most flood-prone areas.

Earlier, Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando denied any knowledge of the flood control projects of the DPWH in Bulacan.

He said in televised interviews that he has signed an executive order that will make the DPWH report to him any flood control projects it will be implementing in the province.

The STAR requested a copy of the governor’s executive order from the Provincial Public Affairs Office of Bulacan but has yet to receive one.

Master plan

In a related development, Malacañang said it did not receive the flood master plan crafted by the administration of the late president Benigno Aquino III.

“We asked (Public Works) Secretary (Manuel) Bonoan if the master plan was turned over. To his knowledge, he told us he did not receive anything,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said at a press briefing yesterday.

“Nothing was turned over by then DPWH secretary Mark Villar,” she added.

Castro was reacting to a recent statement of former DPWH secretary Rogelio Singson, who claimed that the Aquino administration had finished a flood control master plan, but the succeeding governments did not act on it.

But at a press briefing held on July 30, 2024, Bonoan said the DPWH is implementing the Aquino administration’s flood control master plan.

“Yes. I think this is the master plan that we are implementing. I think nothing has changed. I think the components that were laid out in the master plan are still there and this is what we are now implementing actually. Like the drainage, we need a drainage master plan, we have to address environmental issues on garbage and things like these,” Bonoan said when asked whether the Marcos administration would pursue the flood control master plan of the Aquino administration.

Following the string of anomalous flood control projects nationwide, Bacolod City Rep. Albee Benitez urged Bonoan to step down as public works chief.

The principle of command responsibility, according to Benitez, demands that the secretary should resign.

“If something as basic as this has been overlooked, who knows how many more critical projects are in a similar state,” Benitez asked.

In Negros Occidental, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was also asked to investigate the P306-million flood control projects supposedly implemented in San Carlos City by three contractors from northern Luzon.

Based on the documents he received from the DPWH central office, San Carlos City Mayor Renato Gustilo said the projects include the P151.5-million flood control project at Palampas River in Barangay 1 supposedly undertaken by A.P.O. General Construction from Mountain Province; P77.5-million flood control project in Ando-on River, Barangay Poblacion allegedly handled by E.K.C Construction and Aggregates from Benguet and P77.3-million flood control project in Jigalaman River, Barangay Guadalupe undertaken by Jaben General Contracting and Engineering Services, also from Benguet.

Based on the investigation, the DPWH District Office denied the existence of such projects as allegedly being implemented by the three contractors, Gustilo said.

In his letter to resigned NBI chief Jaime Santiago, Gustilo said “the foregoing projects are, without any iota of doubt, ghost projects.”

He added that the San Carlos City government never entered into a contract with the three contractors, who are not included in the official registry of suppliers/contractors maintained by the city government.

“There is no existing record pertaining to the construction of flood control at Ando-on, Jigalaman and Palampas Rivers, all in San Carlos City,” Gustilo further said.

He revealed that his signature and that of engineer Rodney Flores in the certificates of completion and acceptance were forged.

Meanwhile, Flores was mistakenly designated as the city engineer.

While there were flood control projects implemented in San Carlos City, these were undertaken by contractors in Bacolod City under the DPWH engineering district, Gustilo pointed out.

Accountability

Sen. Bong Go, vice chairman of both the Senate Blue Ribbon and finance committees, pressed the DPWH to account for its long-delayed master plan for flood control, pointing out that such guidelines should have been followed after numerous reminders from senators back in 2023.

“We cannot stop typhoons, but we can prevent excessive flooding, loss of life and livelihood and corruption. The flood problem demands the unwavering attention of the government. Let us make corrupt officials accountable,” he said.

Go also raised concerns that some flood control projects continue to be implemented in areas without residents, stressing that he will guard against questionable allocations in the 2026 national budget.

“Our question is, why are we putting flood control projects where there are no residents? There is flood control but no one to protect, no flood being controlled,” he said.

“As chairman of the Senate committee on health, I am no stranger to the destructions brought by typhoons in the country. Flooding is not a new issue, but I share the observations that despite billions of pesos of funding for flood control projects, flooding becomes worse. Flooding is worsening, and previously flood-free areas are now flooded. Every year, the budget for flood control keeps increasing, but the flooding is also going up,” he warned.

He cited flooding at the Philippine General Hospital as an example of urgent priorities being neglected.  – Ramon Efren Lazaro, Gilbert Bayoran, Neil Jayson Servallos, Daphne Galvez