Just when you think it can’t get worse, it just does.
A former district engineer (DE) in one of the cities in Bulacan, notorious for spearheading ghost projects, is said to be addicted to casinos and to have incurred massive gambling debt.
On one night alone, this ex-DE lost P150 million in a sprawling casino somewhere in the southern part of Metro Manila.
Wow. Talk about two of our most pressing problems unraveling in one person.
This DE, frustrated contractors attest, used their licenses – with a promise to give them five percent of the project cost – to facilitate the release of funding for various flood control projects.
These flood control projects were supposed to be built somewhere in Bulacan, usually in areas where monitoring was difficult.
The projects, however, never materialized. And this has been going on for years, according to contractors.
Contractors attest to this ex-DE’s casino addiction, saying it was the reason why many of the projects within his district never materialized. He used the funds meant for infrastructure projects for his gambling addiction.
This whole thing is so wrong on so many levels.
First, what’s a government official like a DE doing in a casino? Second, how could this be going on without checks and accountability?
My contractor source, however, said this isn’t unusual – congressmen, DEs and contractors are all in cahoots to pocket taxpayers’ money meant for flood control and other projects. Some contractors are forced to play this game to bag these multi-million peso contracts.
We hear that this ex-DE’s superiors at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have already been made aware of the problem, which is perhaps the reason why the ex-DE has been moved from his current position.
I got hold of a list of projects in 2024 alone in this city in Bulacan – more than 80 in total, mostly flood control projects. Of these, 30 percent are estimated to be ghost projects, according to industry sources.
Samples of the projects on the list include riverbank protection structures, asset preservation and preventive maintenance projects, flood control structures and revetment.
The approved budget for these contracts runs into billions. For instance, one riverbank protection structure project has an approved budget of P96 million, P2.4 million for a preventive maintenance project and P19 million for the construction of a flood control structure.
Imagine if even only one of the more than 80 projects is a ghost project, that already translates to at least P96 million in stolen taxpayers’ money.
Against this backdrop, it is important for the investigations to continue and to include DEs.
According to the DPWH, a DE is responsible for overseeing all engineering and construction activities within his or her designated district. His work includes planning and managing the construction and maintenance of public works projects, ensuring that they meet all the standards.
Within the DPWH, there are officials tasked with making sure that the projects are indeed completed. But more often than not, everyone concerned is coopted.
This whole trail of corruption starts with the congressman who usually gets billions in allocation for projects for their respective districts. They are the ones who identify the projects and instruct the DEs which contractors will be chosen.
‘Commission OR Audit?’
Even the Commission on Audit (COA) is supposed to audit the projects after completion.
But, according to my sources, even COA representatives are sometimes given hefty commissions so that they turn a blind eye to ghost projects.
It’s either commissions or audit, thus the term coined by contractors: “Commission or Audit?”
Moving forward, President Marcos must keep the momentum going in this investigation process.
Senator Panfilo Lacson has already started the ball rolling.
He said he is continuing his verification of information on failed and ghost flood control projects, even as he added that he is willing to compare notes with a list of such projects submitted by the DPWH to Malacañang.
“I am continuing my verification. I am very careful on this, I want my findings to be factual, that’s why I am having details on the ground checked,” Lacson said in a statement.
Lacson, known for his anti-corruption stance, is looking into projects that were funded in earlier General Appropriations Acts (GAAs) that were listed as completed in previous years, but were never constructed – and funds were allotted for them again in the 2025 GAA.
For example, he said, a project was supposed to be funded one to two years ago. It would not be constructed and it would not be too obvious because it is in a remote area, but it would be funded again, then actually constructed.
“If you do not check records covering more than one year, you won’t notice it immediately,” Lacson said.
He should look into Bulacan. The DPWH and the big contractors know who this notorious ex-DE is. And they know about his casino addiction.
It is also possible, Lacson said, that the DEs themselves have their own construction companies implementing the projects but using the license of another contractor, who in turn is forced to comply because his future projects may be at stake.
I fervently hope a full investigation will happen and that those found guilty and involved in this whole trail of corruption in flood control projects will be held to account.
This is the only way President Marcos can prove that he is indeed serious in the fight against corruption. Otherwise, taxpayers’ money will continue to be washed away in floods every monsoon season.
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Email: eyesgonzales@gmail.com. Follow her on X @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.