The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has uncovered 421 “ghost” flood control projects out of more than 8,000 inspected across the country.
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon revealed the findings during a press conference after a meeting with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) in Taguig City. The discovery came after joint inspections conducted by the DPWH, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP), and DEVDep.
According to Dizon, most of the fake or non-existent projects were located in Luzon. He described the current list as preliminary, noting that hundreds of thousands of other projects still need to be validated.
Dizon did not disclose the total cost of the ghost projects but confirmed that a detailed report has already been submitted to the ICI. The agency is set to investigate and hold accountable those involved in the fraudulent projects.
ICI Executive Director Brian Hosaka said the DPWH report would significantly aid their ongoing investigation. With the new data, investigators can now verify and visit the identified ghost flood control sites across the country.
Both agencies vowed transparency and continued coordination to prevent similar incidents from happening in future infrastructure programs.
