DPWH finds 421 ghost projects

ICI may probe 'haunted' hospital, overpriced farm roads - Palace

- JOSEPH PEDRAJAS and ARGYLL CYRUS GEDUCOS

A total of 421 out of 8,000 inspected flood control projects around the country are "ghost projects" or practically nonexistent, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon disclosed on Thursday, Oct. 9.

After spending several days on the field validating flood control projects that were tagged as "completed" in the agency's record, Dizon returned to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) headquarters to report his findings.

With the help of the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) or previously the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) as well as of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), Dizon said they found that hundreds of supposedly completed flood control projects do not exist at all.

And most of them are in Luzon, Dizon said.

"That's just the initial number.

But we will not give more details because ICI has requested that in order for them to investigate properly, they have to zero in on the ghost projects," Dizon said in a press conference, He added that more such projects may be discovered once DPWH inspects more flood control works.

The DPWH and its partner agencies are now focusing on ghost projects because they are the ones that are easy to cite for case buildup.