DOJ confirms 14 flood control ‘ghost’ projects

By Wilnard Bacelonia, Philippine News Agency

INSPECTION. Former Independent Commission for Infrastructure special adviser and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong and Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon inspect the PHP96.5-million flood control project in Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental, flagged as a ghost project, on Sept. 25, 2025. The Department of Justice on Monday (Jan. 19, 2026) has identified and confirmed that 14 flood control projects are “ghost” or non-existent. (Photo: PNA/Facebook)

MANILA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) has identified and confirmed that 14 flood control projects are “ghost” or non-existent.

At the resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee probe into the alleged flood control anomalies on Monday, DOJ officer-in-charge Sec. Fredderick Vida said some of the cases had been filed before the Sandiganbayan while others remain under preliminary investigation.

“Sa kasalukuyan po, labing apat po ‘yung projects na identified na ng Department of Justice na kami po ay kumbinsido na ghost projects (At present, the Department of Justice has identified 14 projects that we are convinced are ghost projects),” he said.

He added that the issuance of arrest warrants rests solely with the courts once information approved by the Ombudsman are submitted.

He said prosecutors are exercising caution before endorsing cases for arrest warrants, stressing that evidence must withstand judicial scrutiny.

“’ung mga unang bahagi, para po mapaliit natin, para hindi po tayo balik na balik, sa libo-libo, kung makakapaglabas na po ang ating mga kapatid sa kagawaran ng DPWH, na halimbawa po, 10,000, 9,800 dyan, sigurado na kami hindi ghost project eh di lumiit na po ‘yung ating universe. Kasi limitado po ang resources ng government. Limitado rin po ang oras natin sa pag-asa ng ating mga kababayan na magkaroon nga ho ng solusyon (If we can first narrow things down so we don’t keep going back to the thousands—if our colleagues at the DPWH can release data showing, for example, that out of 10,000 projects, 9,800 are definitely not ghost projects—then our universe becomes smaller. Government resources are limited, and so is the time as our people await solutions),” Vida said.

In the same hearing, Sen. Erwin Tulfo raised concerns that discrepancies between the Multi-Year Planning and Scheduling (MYPS) system and actual project locations have complicated efforts to determine which projects are “ghost” and which were built in areas different from those reflected in planning records.

Errors and inconsistencies in grid coordinates used for flood control projects have been cited as reasons for delays in the issuance of arrest warrants, as authorities move to ensure that only cases backed by solid evidence are brought before the courts.

Officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) acknowledged that validation has taken longer as investigators must verify whether projects were genuinely non-existent or merely misplaced on official maps.

“Correct, Mr. Chair. Kaya po medyo it takes time to validate kasi nga po hindi porke’t ‘yung initial validation done by the field na wala doon sa MYPS coordinates, we have to verify po kung wala po talagang nagawa (That is why validation takes time, because just because the initial field validation shows the project is not in the MYPS coordinates does not mean nothing was actually built; we still have to verify that no project was done),” DPWH Undersecretary Ricardo Bernabe said.

Bernabe said 421 projects are undergoing site validation to ensure that cases filed before the Office of the Ombudsman and the courts involve those that are proven to be ghost projects.