Alleged 'ghost' flood control projects being validated — DPWH's Bonoan

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan assured the public Wednesday that the supposed ''ghost'' flood control projects would be validated and investigated. 

''This is something that we have to validate po kung mayroong ghost project na sinasabi kasi one to one 'to eh. Kung halimbawa, nirereport namin at hindi ho makita 'yung project na 'yan then that's the only time we can see na mayroong ghost project,'' Bonoan said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview. 

(This is something that we have to validate if there are ghost projects. For example, if we report then we don't see that project, then that's the only time we can see if there's indeed a ghost project.) 

His statement was in response to Senator Panfilo Lacson's remarks, pushing for the punishment against contractors and government accomplices who are involved in failed and ''ghost'' flood control projects. 

"The most effective mechanism is the certainty of punishment. Someone must be held accountable. Because if not, the flood control mess will continue, with the culprits lying low and then going back to business. So that is the most effective mechanism - to see the culprits actually getting punished,'' Lacson said in an earlier interview. 

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. earlier vowed that his allies would not be spared if found to be involved in corruption on flood control projects.

Marcos in his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA 2025) warned government personnel who steal public funds, such as those for flood control projects, that they will be dealt with under the law.

The DPWH earlier admitted that it has no monitoring system in place for some flood control projects—specifically those inserted by lawmakers into the national budget without undergoing technical vetting. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News