MANILA — Six flood control projects in Davao City have emerged as strong candidates for “ghost projects” after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) flagged more than half of 100 projects it inspected for possible irregularities.
NBI director Melvin Matibag said Friday that 51 of the 100 flood control projects examined by investigators showed red flags, with six warranting closer scrutiny as potentially nonexistent projects.
“Meron na pong nagpunta at based doon po sa 100 projects na tinignan, 51 po na red flag na po natin. At doon po sa 51 na yan, merong anim strongly candidate na ghost project,” Matibag said in a radio interview.
The latest findings deepen the NBI’s probe into flood control spending in Davao City, where investigators have also uncovered what Matibag described as unusual funding patterns.
According to Matibag, investigators found one location that was funded five times within a single General Appropriations Act year under different project titles.
“Dalawang beses po pinondohan ng P21 million at tatlong beses na P22 million po,” he said.
The NBI is also examining projects implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) involving Genesis88 Construction Inc., which Matibag said secured about P7 billion worth of flood control projects from 2018 to 2024.
The P7-billion figure emerged after the NBI coordinated with the Commission on Audit, according to Matibag. The DPWH-Davao Region has also turned over 10 boxes of documents to investigators as part of the probe.
Matibag further alleged that the company’s owner was close to Davao City 1st District’s Cong. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte.
The NBI chief, however, maintained that the investigation was not targeting a particular political group or locality, saying similar scrutiny is being conducted on flood control projects in Bulacan, Mindoro, Cebu, Quezon, Tarlac and La Union, among other areas.
If investigators establish sufficient evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the NBI may refer its findings to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for further investigation or directly to the Office of the Ombudsman.
“We will recommend it for further investigation by the Department of Justice or kung pwede na pong idiretso sa Ombudsman, dadalhin po natin sa Ombudsman,” Matibag said.
Duterte earlier welcomed the investigation into projects in his district but challenged authorities to apply the same scrutiny nationwide, including to projects in the district of Laguna First District Rep. Ann Matibag, the NBI director’s wife.
“We welcome Melvin Matibag’s statement on the flood control projects in Davao City’s First District… Pero sana lang kung seryoso tayo sa imbestigasyon, dapat pare-pareho ang standards sa lahat ng lugar,” Duterte said.
He claimed his camp had videos involving projects in Ann Matibag’s district and projects associated with the Discaya family and urged authorities to investigate any suspected ghost or substandard infrastructure.
“May hawak kami na videos sa projects sa distrito ni Ann Matibag at ng mga Discaya. Kung may ghost o substandard projects, imbestigahan lahat—Davao man o saan mang bahagi ng bansa,” Duterte added.
Ann Matibag, meanwhile, said any evidence of possible irregularities in projects in her district should be turned over to the proper authorities for verification.
“If Congressman Duterte has documents or videos showing possible irregularities in projects in my district, he should submit them, together with the specific project details, to the proper authorities. My office will cooperate fully in securing the records and in any lawful inquiry.”/PN
