Ghost projects in Masbate? DPWH, take a look

One will find it difficult to believe the gravity of it all. But here we are, waking up every day to this ugly reality. Just the other day, Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon announced that government agencies have uncovered 421 new ghost projects out of 8,000 sites investigated.

Detailed blueprints were signed, contracts were forged and monitoring teams gave the green light. Yet, in the end, these projects never happened. These aren’t just criminal acts but billions in hard-earned taxpayer money lost to corruption.

Obviously, Satan went on overdrive here in our nation of 115 million.

Sec. Dizon said the 421 ghost projects are only the initial findings, as there are around 100,000 projects that still need to be validated nationwide.

The people of Masbate are hoping authorities would visit their province too, because they say it is also plagued with ghost and substandard infrastructure projects.

Masbate, population 910,000, is an island province in the Philippines about 370 kilometers from Manila.

The province, say geologists, sits on a “pot of gold” with its rich natural resources. It’s been called an Eden off the tourist trail with its powdery white sand beaches and turquoise waters.

And yet, Masbate is consistently listed among the top 10 poorest provinces in the Philippines.

The DPWH, together with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Department of National Defense and the Department of Economic Planning and Development, has been auditing the country’s flood control projects.

They should include Masbate in their audit – and not just the flood control projects.

I got hold of a copy of an Aug. 2, 2025 judicial narrative submitted by journalists Arnel Bello, Edarlito Doremon Jr. and Benjamin Gigante, members of the Masbate Quad Media Society (MQMS) Inc., detailing alleged ghost projects in different districts in the province.

The MQMS, an independent group of journalists, conducted a 2022 fact-finding mission, including physical visits to project sites. They “gathered photographic, testimonial and on-ground evidence pointing to possible malversation, fraud and administrative misconduct.”

As a result, they filed various cases with the Office of the Ombudsman against local officials led by then provincial governor Antonio Kho, now a representative of Masbate.

The list of alleged ghost projects they documented is long. Due to space constraints, I will print only the first 10 on the list:

• Five ghost projects amounting to P234.6 million (complaint filed on Jan. 5, 2023)

• Five ghost projects amounting to P127.7 million (complaint filed on Jan. 5, 2023)

• Twenty-three ghost projects amounting to P198 million (complaint filed on Jan. 5, 2023)

• Ghost rehabilitation of Bayombon-Ubo Road Project amounting to P19.9 million (complaint filed on Oct. 18, 2023)

• Ghost rehabilitation of Igang-Gutusan-Igang Rawis Road in Barangay Igang, Masbate City amounting to P8.96 million (complaint filed on Oct. 18, 2023)

• Ghost rehabilitation of Calabad-Rizal Road, Barangay Calabad, Dimasalang, Masbate amounting to P19.9 million (complaint filed on Oct. 18, 2023)

• Canahig-Polot Road in Barangay Polot, Mobo, Masbate amounting to P19.84 million (complaint filed on Oct. 18, 2023)

• Ghost rehabilitation of Cagay-Guintorelan Road, Mobo, Masbate amounting to P6.98 million (complaint filed on Oct. 18, 2023)

• Ghost rehabilitation of Sitio San Vicente Road, Milagros, Masbate amounting to P19.97 million (complaint filed on Dec. 22, 2023)

• Ghost rehabilitation/regraveling of Barangay Real to Barangay Famosa Road, Monreal, Masbate amounting to P9.98 million (complaint filed on Dec. 22, 2023)

Furthermore, some of these ghost projects were awarded to a single, newly set-up contractor. The bidding dates and starting dates were all the same.

The complainants have since faced counter-charges and other forms of harassment, they said in their judicial narrative.

But as I said, this list is not even complete. It’s now up to Sec. Dizon to look into this.

Notorious for corruption

Stories of corruption in Masbate are nothing new. These have been reported by local newspapers and national newspapers.

Last year, The STAR reported that Doremon and Gigante filed a complaint against Kho and other officials for awarding contracts for three road rehabilitation projects worth P99.8 million in 2022.

There were other complaints filed against Kho and other officials, such as one involving alleged anomalous road projects worth over P234.6 million, but these were dismissed.

Interestingly, Kho himself, now a lawmaker, has spoken out against ghost projects, according to reports quoting him.

During a House investigation into flood control projects last August, the Masbate lawmaker raised concerns about the possibility of ghost projects among the 9,956 projects nationwide implemented as of July 2022.

He stressed the need for a comprehensive review to determine the extent of any irregularities and emphasized his commitment to finding solutions to the persistent problem of flooding.

If this is the case, then Masbate shouldn’t have ghost projects.

Only a full independent audit by the DPWH, together with the government team looking into flood control projects, can determine this.

With the Marcos administration stepping up its campaign against corruption in public works, it would be good to look into this province long notorious for poverty and graft.

This is also a challenge to newly appointed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla. He must look into the different cases pending before the ombudsman related to ghost projects in Masbate or corruption in general.

As we’re seeing now, whether it’s Manila or Masbate, corruption in flood control projects exists and the ghosts will continue to haunt us until authorities finally bring the perpetrators to justice.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on X @eyesgonzales.
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