DPWH finds 421 'ghosts' in 8,000 flood projects

At least 421 of about 8,000 flood control projects have been found to be “ghost” or nonexistent in inspections undertaken by the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev), according to Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon.

- RAINIER ALLAN RONDA and EJ MACABABBAD

Dizon, in a press briefing yesterday at the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), said that the 8,000 project sites inspected were an initial number covered by the AFP, PNP and DEPDev, involving the physical validation of thousands of ongoing and completed infrastructure projects across the country.

Dizon said that the AFP and PNP had conducted the inspections even without a formal arrangement with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

“We're going to formalize the agreement with the PNP and the AFP,” Dizon said.

He said that the inspections had already yielded solid results, whose findings he will report to the ICI.

According to Dizon, reports from the AFP, PNP and DEP-Dev were submitted last week, with Public Works Undersecretary Arthur Bisnar tasked to present the consolidated inspection updates to the ICI.

"These are actual physical validations of project sites," Dizon explained. "We've already received reports covering about 8,000 sites. That's still small compared to the entire universe of government infrastructure projects, but it's a start." The inspections, which are being conducted nationwide, aim to verify the actual progress and existence of projects under the government's infrastructure program, amid concerns over so-called ghost projects.

"There are always trust issues in any large bureaucracy, including the DPWH," Dizon acknowledged. "That's why it's important for us to tap independent validators such as the AFP and PNP, who are already deployed all over the country. This makes the process more credible and less vulnerable to internal biases." The inspection teams are currently focusing on key provinces with high concentrations of infrastructure spending.

However, officials declined to disclose detailed findings pending the submission of their official report to the ICI.