Senate mulls barring ‘ghost project’ contractors from 2026 infra deals

The Senate Finance Committee is considering inserting a special provision in the 2026 national budget to bar contractors linked to anomalous or “ghost” projects from participating in new government infrastructure deals, committee chairman Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said yesterday.

- 

“Pinag-aaralan naming, baka maglagay kami ng special provision doon sa mga contractor na sangkot sa mga anomalya, ‘wag na pasalihin muna sa government projects. Kasi tuloy ang ligaya e,” Gatchalian said in an interview over dzBB, noting that even if cases are filed, judgments may not come soon enough to stop repeat violations.

He said the proposed ban would apply not only to contracts under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) but also to projects handled by the Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, and other implementing agencies.

“So lahat ‘yan pagbabawalan na sumali sa government projects,” he said.

The senator said his legal team is working with the Senate’s lawyers to study how far such a provision could go.