There are suspected “ghost” projects in some engineering districts of Bulacan and elsewhere, which the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is now investigating, Secretary Manuel Bonoan told a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday.
Bonoan admitted this after Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada disclosed information that a lone construction firm, Wawao Builders, cornered flood control and other infrastructure projects in Calumpit, Hagonoy, and Malolos under the First Engineering District of Bulacan.
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee was tackling alleged anomalous flood control projects. Wawao Builders is one of 15 contractors awarded more than P100 billion worth of such projects, with about P9 billion reportedly going to the company nationwide.
Bonoan said there are 85 projects in Bulacan worth P5.97 billion, five of which—amounting to P435 million—are in the First Engineering District. Asked if ghost projects existed, he replied: “In all honesty, Your Honor, I think so.”
He added that based on information reaching the DPWH, not all the projects in the district actually exist. Bonoan has ordered the relief of the entire First Engineering District to allow an impartial probe. A financial and physical report is expected within a week.
“There seems to be some ghost projects that we are investigating,” Bonoan said. “We will come up with a report in one week’s time.” He vowed charges would be filed once airtight cases are built.
Deeper accountability
Calling the issue “a call for deeper accountability,” Bonoan said the DPWH has begun reassigning personnel in highly suspicious offices to protect project integrity. “We are committed to validating the data, strengthening our monitoring and evaluation, and ensuring that every peso of public resources truly translates into real, tangible protection for our communities against floods,” he said.
Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, panel chairman, said the DPWH could pursue the performance bonds of erring contractors once proven to be involved in anomalies. He also pressed the agency to coordinate with the River Basin Control Office (RBCO), mandated to develop an integrated master plan for flood control.
“That’s why I have been telling you that even if you mention a hundred river basins, until and unless they are integrated with one another, nothing will happen,” Marcoleta said. Bonoan admitted there had been “no significant coordination” with the RBCO so far.
Senate Deputy Majority Leader Joseph Victor Ejercito criticized the DPWH for failing to produce a long-promised master plan, despite repeated reminders. Bonoan replied that the agency is finalizing a P150-billion, 60-kilometer Central Luzon-Pampanga River Floodway Project, still at the detailed engineering design stage, targeted for completion in 2026.
Ejercito also noted a mismatch in flood control spending, saying much of the P350-billion allocation went to areas without perennial flooding, instead of flood-prone provinces like Bulacan. Bonoan said fund allocations are prepared by Malacañang, not the DPWH.
Licenses for rent
Sen. Imee Marcos added that many of the 15 contractors flagged by her brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., do not build projects themselves but rent out their licenses to smaller players. “Most of the 15 contractors rent out their Triple A, Quadruple A licenses—for a fee—so that small players will be the ones who will build the projects,” she said, calling for an end to the practice.
Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino said flood control funds wasted through irregularities should instead be channeled to classroom construction. The Department of Education has said the country needs 165,000 more classrooms nationwide.
