Ghost, substandard flood control projects to be declared crime scenes — Magalong

The alleged ghost and substandard flood control projects found in La Union will be declared as “crime scenes” to prevent any intrusion, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, special adviser to the  Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), said Tuesday.

“We're going to declare this as a crime scene. Isesecure namin ito kung sakaling may mag intrude dito, kakasuhan natin (we will secure the area so that we file charges to those who intrude),” Magalong said in Sendee Salvacio’s report on “24 Oras.”

Magalong made the remark as he and Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon inspected the flood control projects in the towns of Bauang and Tubao.

“Meron kaming nakikitang mga pattern ng either ghost or substandard talaga. Ang isang napakimportanteng nakikita namin halos lahat ng nabisita naming mga proyekto walang maipakitang plano sa atin. Eh yun ang basis eh di natin yan maa-assess ng mabuti kung wala tayong pinagbabasehan at ‘yun lagi ang plano,” Dizon said.

(We saw a pattern that the flood control projects are either ghost or substandard. We saw that almost all of them have no construction plans. We cannot assess the projects thoroughly if we don’t have a basis.)

One of the flood control projects they inspected is the dike and riprap in Barangay Calumbaya, Baung, which cost P180 million.

Dizon said the project was awarded to a company named Silver Wolves and was supposed to be completed in March 2025, but workers were still found constructing in the area.

They also discovered that the pipes were fake and seemingly glued to the soil and that some parts of the dike were already damaged, allegedly due to rainfall.

Magalong said the pipes should be two meters long, but the ones they found did not reach a foot.

“No doubt kailangan ng flood control project dito. So ngayon ang ginawa namin ni Mayor Benjie dito tinitingnan natin ‘yung quality gawa. we want to check kung, clearly hindi ito ghost project kasi may nakikita niyo naman may proyekto. Pero mukhang, base palang sa observation namin ni Mayor Benjie, mukhang napaka-substandard nito.” Dizon said.

(No doubt a flood control project is needed here. Currently, Magalong and I are looking into the quality of the construction. Clearly, it's not a ghost project, but based on our observations, it seems it’s substandard.)

There is no available construction plan for the said flood control project, the officials said.

Magalong and Dizon also visited the P50-million flood control project in Barangay Anduya, Tubao, which was said to be completed cheaply since it is only 500 meters wide.

Another ghost project was found in Barangay Rizal, Tubao, which was reported to Magalong’s office after his appointment in the ICI.

He said verification is ongoing with regard to the said project.

The flood control projects in the Ilocos Region has a total of 651, which has a total amount of P39.3 billion.

The region acquired the fourth highest budget for flood control projects in the country, and fifth with the most number of builds.

Magalong ordered the suspension of flood control projects they visited while the investigation is ongoing.

“Questionable nga yung technology na ginamit considering na nakita niyo naman sa ibang lugar consistent na talagang buhos. Pero dito parang stone masonry naman ang ginamit. Bakit hindi consistent 'yung technology na ginamit. Bakit iba-iba?” Magalong said.

(The technology they used is questionable, considering that projects in other places are consistent, but here it seems that they use stone masonry. Why are they not consistent with the technology they use?) — Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News