ILOILO City — Western Visayas has been cleared of “ghost” flood control projects following a government-wide physical validation, but regional authorities stressed that the finding does not necessarily absolve the projects of possible overpricing, substandard construction or other irregularities.
The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Region 6 said all flood control projects in the region appearing in records submitted by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) were physically accounted for during inspections across the region.
DEPDev regional director Arecio Casing Jr., however, said irregularities and delays were noted during the validation, although the situation in Western Visayas appeared less serious compared with anomalies uncovered elsewhere in the country.
“As compared to other regions, we are not that malala,” Casing said.
The findings are significant amid heightened nationwide scrutiny of billions of pesos spent on flood control infrastructure following reports of questionable and even non-existent projects in other areas.
The regional inspection was undertaken by the Regional Project Monitoring Committee (RPMC) under DEPDev in coordination with the DPWH, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Budget and Management, Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Casing said the physical validation found no flood control project in Western Visayas that could so far be classified as a ghost project.
“Not to that level… no ghost projects. As to their level of presence in the submitted documents by DPWH, andun naman siya. But if wala siya duon, that has to be further verified,” said Casing.
He stressed, however, that DEPDev’s inspection had a limited mandate.
Inspectors primarily verified whether the projects actually existed at their declared locations and whether their physical accomplishment corresponded with the reported stage of construction.
The inspection did not determine whether projects were overpriced, involved financial kickbacks, or were built using substandard materials or workmanship.
“There are several criteria and parameters for our inspection: first, whether it is actually there, and second, and the level of construction. We do not judge if it is substandard or overpriced — that is not at our level — however, those are our specific parameters,” he said.
The distinction means the absence of ghost projects does not amount to a blanket clearance of Western Visayas’ flood control program from other potential anomalies.
The nationwide inspection was ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. amid public outrage over massive government spending on flood mitigation projects while many communities continued to suffer severe flooding.
Following the initial validation, DEPDev-6 transmitted its findings to the Office of the President.
According to Casing, the records have subsequently been provided to investigative and justice agencies, including the Department of Justice, National Bureau of Investigation and Office of the Ombudsman, for possible use in pursuing cases against contractors and government officials found liable for irregularities.
“We submitted our records to the Office of the President, and these have been passed to our justice agencies. You are now seeing cases actively being filed by the Ombudsman based on these substantiated reports,” Casing added.
DEPDev-6, meanwhile, said the detailed regional inventory and individual status of the flood control projects could not yet be publicly released.
The complete records have been submitted to the Office of the President for further review and evaluation.
“The data and number of these flood control projects are available in the office the president,” Casing said./PN
