Cheyenne Suarez

P55-M 'ghost' river wall project in Baliwag skipped local gov't oversight, LGU says

Article (news)

Ched Rick Gatchalian

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1755765444097BONG.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="President Ferdinand &quot;Bongbong&quot; Marcos Jr. inspects a section of the river wall project in Barangay Piel, Baliuag, Bulacan, on August 20, 2025. Marcos expressed intense anger over the discovery of &quot;ghost&quot; flood control projects in the province. Yummie Dingding, PPA pool "/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">President Ferdinand &quot;Bongbong&quot; Marcos Jr. inspects a section of the river wall project in Barangay Piel, Baliuag, Bulacan, on August 20, 2025. Marcos expressed intense anger over the discovery of &quot;ghost&quot; flood control projects in the province. <em>Yummie Dingding, PPA pool </em></span></span></span></div><p>BALIWAG, Bulacan — The P55-million river wall project in Barangay Piel, Baliwag, Bulacan that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inspected allegedly bypassed local government oversight, according to the Baliwag City government. </p><p><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/20/marcos-inspects-flood-control-project-in-bulacan-as-probe-intensifies-0913">Marcos visited the project on Wednesday and left the area &quot;very angry&quot;</a>, as he said there was no indication that the project even started despite it being marked &quot;completed&quot;.</p><p>In a statement on Thursday, the Baliwag LGU said the project proponents neither coordinated nor communicated with their office.</p><p>&quot;Ang proyektong ito ay hindi dumaan sa Pamahalaang Lungsod, at wala ring kaukulang dokumentong isinumite sa City Engineering Office, maging ang koordinasyon o pakikipag-ugnayan sa alinmang tanggapan ng LGU,&quot; the city government&#x27;s Facebook post reads.</p><p>(This project did not go through the City Government, nor submitted any corresponding documents to the City Engineering Office, and had no coordination or communication with any LGU office.)</p><p>The Baliwag LGU echoed Marcos&#x27; sentiments, saying it also condemns any &quot;fictitious projects&quot; that used a large amount of public funds.</p><p>It assured residents that it will strengthen its coordination with other national government agencies regarding any project that will start in Baliwag.</p><p>The LGU said it seeks to quickly identify and act upon any suspicious projects in the city to avoid wasting public funds.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/8/19/coa-gets-critical-docs-on-bulacan-flood-control-projects-amid-fraud-audit-1633">COA gets ‘critical’ docs on Bulacan flood control projects amid fraud audit</a></div><p>&quot;Buong suporta ang Pamahalaang Lungsod sa hangarin ni Pangulong BBM na palabasin ang katotohanan sa mga ma-anomalyang proyekto ng gobyerno hanggang mapanagot ang mga opisyal na may sala,&quot; Baliwag LGU added.</p><p>(The City Government fully supports President BBM’s goal of uncovering the truth behind anomalous government projects and going after officials that are accountable to these mistakes.)</p><p>Marcos has ordered the blacklisting of the construction company involved in the river wall project in Baliwag and charge the firm with graft.</p><p>&quot;Tingnan ninyo, may isla sa gitna, tinutubuan na ng damo. Masukal na &#x27;yan. Matagal na sila hindi nagde-dredge. Although sa report namin nagde-de-dredge sila. Hahanapin natin sino ang responsable rito sa government, sa private. Managot sila hindi sa akin pero sa mga tao dito,&quot; the President said after observing the project.</p><p>He also said the national government would be compelled to file an economic sabotage case against contractors and individuals involved in these kinds of fictitious projects.</p><p>Bulacan topped the provinces in Central Luzon that have the most number of flood control projects since 2022.</p><p>The province was also allegedly the &quot;most notorious&quot; in terms of anomalous flood control projects in the country, according to Sen. Ping Lacson on Wednesday.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/20/lacson-details-corruption-in-flood-control-projects-1924">Lacson details corruption in flood control projects</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3PSGgWMUGJQ?&amp;embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.abs-cbn.com%2F&amp;source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>The P55-million river wall project in Barangay Piel, Baliwag Bulacan that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inspected allegedly bypassed local government oversight, according to the Baliwag local government.</p>

The P55-million river wall project in Barangay Piel, Baliwag Bulacan that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inspected allegedly bypassed local government oversight, according to the Baliwag local government.