Joselito Malig

Article (news)

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Even the justice department is not convinced that most of the projects being investigated in the flood control scandal are ghost projects.OIC DOJ Secretary Frederick Vida admitted this as the panel looked into the allegation that the wrong coordinates of the projects were submitted to the Palace when it started its own investigation.Vida said so far, they are convinced only 14 are ghost projects.&quot;Sa kasalukuyan po, labing apat po yung projects na identified na ng Department of Justice sa pamamagitan po ng pagkalap ng iba&#x27;t ibang pirasong ebidensya, pira-pirasong ebidensya, ang kaya po, ito po yung nakasalang na. Labing apat po na projects na sa amin pong kami po ay kumbinsido na ghost projects. Ito po ay hinugot dun sa unang listahan po na 421. Doon sa iba po na 421 projects, hindi pa po kami kumbinsido na ghost project sila at patuloy po kami nagkakalap ng iba&#x27;t ibang ebidensya para masigurado siyang ghost project,” he said.Of the 14 projects, six projects involve Wawao Construction and Top Notch Catalyst, while others involve Syms Construction.Vida also said they have already launced a preliminary investigation into the said projects.DPWH Undersecretary Rico Bernabe told Senator Erwin Tulfo that projects that are subject of pending cases really are ghost projects.&quot;Just to set the record straight, yun pong naging subject of cases pending now before the Ombudsman or Sandiganbayan, ito po ay talaga mga ghost projects po. So aside from the issue na meron nga pong mga wrong coordinates, meron pa rin po talagang ghost projects,” Bernabe said.Bernabe admitted the wrong coordinates are slowing the investigation because they have to re-do everything.“Kaya po medyo it takes time to validate kasi nga po hindi porket yung initial validation done by the field na wala doon sa MYPS coordinates, we have to verify po kung wala po talagang nagawa. So that&#x27;s why ito pong 421, it took us time to validate all these sites po to ensure na kapag po may kakasuhan for ghost, eh talaga pong ghost project,” Bernabe said. He also said the DPWH has validated that the 421 projects are ghost projects.&quot;You said 421, di ba ilang libo po yung nabanggit na Pangulo na sa report niya ang ghost project? Are you saying itong 421 pala na ma-validate ninyo na correctly na talagang ghost?&quot; Tulfo said.&quot;MYes po. Ito po yung listahan ng ICI. ICI po kasi talaga yung may initiative on this and we are just rendering them technical support po. Pero po yung 421 ay due po, of course to limited manpower. Yun po ang kanila muna naka inuuna and then afterwards po they will expand further doon po sa ibang ng suspected ghost projects,” Bernabe said.Of the 337 projects inspected, 291 projects were with coordinates that were off by more than 50 meters, while 46 were off by less than 50 meters.Bernabe said one set of coordinates is being used for planning, while the other set is for construction.But there have been variances.Former Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan told the panel that he only relied on available information when he complied with the presidential order to submit the information.&quot;Your Honor, Mr. Chair, of course I relied on the data that was generated by our people in the department, especially the office of the late Undersecretary Cathy Cabral, especially the initial, the submitted data are actually from the consolidated data by the late Undersecretary Cabral. So, nandon po yung mga MYPS data. And I think, ano lang na yung presidente nung nag-usap kami is actually the only potential ghost projects that they reported to him are those projects that were reported to me dito sa may Bulacan First Engineering District. Wala na pong iba,” Bonoan said, stressing he disclosed this as well to the president.&quot;Yes, I think in our conversation, I told the President that some of these are locational. The MYPS are locational coordinates. But there is actually what we have as stake coordinates, which is the basis of the contract in itself. But having said that, I assure that the President that it&#x27;s still in the same area, yung project na yan. It&#x27;s still in the same area. It cannot be in any other area, Mr. Chair. Because yung gagawin na yung kontrata, yung gagawin na yung kontrata I think depende on the situation on the field that would warrant the technical assessment on the field. This is where they&#x27;re going to put up the assist-take project,” he added.Bonoan explained the variances in the coordinates.&quot;Mr. Chair, your honor, as I mentioned earlier, ang MYPS coordinate is a locational coordinate. Ito yung coordinates kung nasaan yung ilog, nasaan yung town, nasaan yung province. That is the locational coordinates. Ang difference, Mr. Chair, is actually when the project is going to be contracted out, there is what we call as stake coordinates, as stake plants. Depende na po doon sa condition on field condition. Kasi sila na po mag-determine where the project will be most useful. Doon na po nila ilalagay yung project na yan. So that is actually the assist-stake coordinates which is actually the limits of the contract that will be implemented, Mr. Chair. May I just want one comment lang, Mr. Chair. When I learned about the report that there were actually about 421 potential ghost projects, it&#x27;s already a mind-boggling information to me. I have never ever, well, anything about these kinds of ghost projects. You see, if there would be that many ghost projects, I was wondering why, would this not mean naipa-ano na ng COA sa departamento? Because yearly, Mr. Chairman, the COA would like to submit to us actually their observation report. And 421 potential ghost projects as reported is really mind-boggling to me, a number of that sort all over the country,” he explained.Tulfo however had misgivings.&quot;Hindi ako, Secretary Bonoan, maaring maniwala ako eh. Kasi kita naman natin may sabwatan, ilang mga district engineers po ninyo dati at saka mga regional directors. And yung mga COA, yung ika nga COA na naka-assign po sa inyong tanggapan, nag uusap-uusap po sila. Pero with what you&#x27;re saying, 420, medyo malaking nga po yan. Pero sana nga lang po with the new administration, magawan po kaagad ng paraan po ito. Kasi makapag-isip po ang tao na wala po nangyayari. Kaya yan po ang nireklamo ng mga kababayan natin. Wala po nahuhuli, wala pa nakukulong. Yun pala, may problema tayo. Kung hindi pa po na raise ng Mr. Chair natin na ang problema sa mga wrong coordinates kaya kailangan i-double check po natin. Yun ang mahirap. Next time po siguro before we make statements or comments sa media, sa social media, kesyo ganto, kesyo ganon, we have to verify. Kasi pinapaasa po natin ang taumbayan, justice this, huhulihin sa ganito, kakasuhan si ganon, eh hindi pa makasukasuhan. Iniisip tuloy mga mga kababayan natin, baka nagkakaaregluhan na po. May inaayos na, may pinaplansya na. Yon pala dapat po, sinabi nyo kaagad na may problema po tayo, ni-reinform ninyo ang DOJ, ito pong may mga problema tayo sa wrong coordinates para na-inform ang taong bayan. Because yung mama ho, ang Pangulo, nagsalita na may mahuhuli si Ombudsman Remulla, may mahuhuli, may ma-aarestuhin na mga opisyal. Alam nangyari, yon pala, tingin ko, yung problema natin diyan sa mga coordinates na yan. Anyway, Mr. Chair, I&#x27;ll just reserve my other questions,” Tulfo said.DPWH Undersecretary Arthur Bisnar said corrections to the Sumbong sa Pangulo website are forthcoming.&quot;Si Secretary po na-informed na and pina-finalize lang po yung report para po magpadala sa PMS and para po ma-correct yung sumbong sa Pangulo website,” Bisnar said.Bisnar explained probers have only probed a fraction of projects since 2016.&quot;Yon po talaga ang magiging sitwasyon natin po kasi as of today po out of the 30,000 flood control projects from 2016 to 2025, ang na-inspect na po ng AFP-PNP is 10,238. Dahil po dito sa development po na to, most likely maling location ang napuntahan nila, then we have to restart over. Dito po sa 10,000 na validate nila, ang dineclare po nilang non-existent ngayon po is 252. So babalikan na naman po natin tong 252 na to or yung mga projects dito na hindi po kasama dyan sa 416, your Honor,” Bisnar said.Vida advised the DPWH to come up with a list of projects that they found not to be ghost projects.&quot;Mr. Senator, if I may suggest po, sana po ang DPWH at iba pa pong mga katulong ng DPWH sa pag va-validate, maglabas na rin ang datos kung yung libo-libo ho bang project, alin yung talagang hindi na ghost project. Para ho malimit ho natin yung universe, tulad po yung nabanggit po kanina ni Secretary Bonoan, malaking input po sa amin yun, na sa mga initial reports sa kanya, lumalabas sa Region 3 lang. Yung 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. 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. So ang suhestyon po ng inyong lingkod ay para mapaliit po natin, if talaga pong validated na hindi siya ghost project, makapaglabas  na ho ng datos na hindi na talaga ghost project yun. Para makapag-concentrate po tayo sa case build-up dun sa talagang tinuturing nating ghost project,” Vida said.

Of the 14 projects, six projects involve Wawao Construction and Top Notch Catalyst, while others involve Syms Construction.

Of the 14 projects, six projects involve Wawao Construction and Top Notch Catalyst, while others involve Syms Construction.

DOJ believes only 14 of 421 flood control projects are anomalous

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Nation

DOJ believes only 14 of 421 flood control projects are anomalous

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 19, 2026 06:04 PM PHT

Read More:

Senate

DPWH

DOJ

flood control scandal

ghost projects

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.