Marcos' fight against 'ghost' projects may be mere 'Band-Aid solution'

Move seen as bid to regain control as his approval ratings dive amid voter discontent

- Mara Cepeda

MANILA - The sky was overcast on Aug 20 when Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr arrived in Baliuag town, north of capital Manila, expecting to see a 220m river wall built to shield the villagers from floods.

Instead, there was nothing. The riverbank was overgrown with weeds, and the waters rush dangerously close to wooden homes that residents abandon each time it stormed. Records from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) showed that the 55 million peso (S$1.24 million) structure was completed in June.

"I am very angry," Mr Marcos told reporters, vowing to have his legal team explore possibly filing economic sabotage and falsification charges in court against those behind what he condemned as a "ghost" project.

The surprise visit was part of Mr Marcos' new drive against anomalous flood control projects, a sector long plagued by allegations of corruption and substandard work.

He launched the Sumbong sa Pangulo (Report to the President) website on Aug 11, days after citizens took to social media to complain about dubious flood control projects in the wake of successive storms that had inundated parts of the country. The portal has already logged more than 1,000 reports of alleged "ghost" projects nationwide.

Mr Marcos started the crackdown with just three years left in his term, in what analysts see as an attempt to reassert control after the May midterm polls, where the turnout signalled Filipinos' discontent over his government's performance.

His approval ratings had dropped to their lowest point at the height of his feud with erstwhile ally Vice-President Sara Duterte, as her allies and opposition candidates outnumbered Marcos-backed bets in the Senate race in May.