DOJ: 14 out of 421 'ghost' flood control projects confirmed non-existent

Only 14 out of the 421 flood control projects initially flagged as “ghost projects” have been confirmed to be non-existent, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Monday.

During the continuation of the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on alleged irregularities in flood control projects, acting Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said cases have already been filed with the Sandiganbayan involving two of the 14 confirmed ghost projects.

The remaining 12 projects—linked to SYMS Construction Trading and Waowao Construction Trading—are still undergoing preliminary investigation, he said.

“Sa iba pang 421 projects, hindi pa kami kumbinsido na ghost projects sila at patuloy kaming nagkakalap ng iba’t ibang ebidensya para masigurado kung ghost projects nga,” Vida told the Senate panel.

(We are not yet convinced that the other projects are ghost projects, and we are continuing to   various pieces of evidence.)

Vida added that while two cases are already pending before the Sandiganbayan, the remaining 12 are being prepared as part of a batch of cases involving SYMS Construction Trading.

“Sa kasalukuyan, tulad ng sa 14, yung dalawa ay nasa Sandiganbayan na. Yung 12 ay nasa preliminary investigation pa,” he said.

LIVE UPDATES: Senate hearing into flood control projects (Jan. 19, 2026)

In October 2025, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported that 421 out of around 8,000 flood control projects it initially inspected nationwide were allegedly non-existent.

However, Senate blue ribbon committee chairperson Senate President Pro-Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson alleged that former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan deliberately submitted incorrect grid coordinates to Malacañang for thousands of flood control projects, resulting in what he described as “grossly inaccurate data” during validation.

Following the development, DPWH Undersecretary Arthur Bisnar said authorities may need to “restart over” with the validation process.

Vida urged the DPWH to release a list identifying which projects have already been confirmed as existing to narrow down the scope of the investigation.

“If I may suggest, sana ang DPWH ay maglabas ng datos kung alin ang hindi ghost projects para ma-limit ang universe at makapag-concentrate kami sa case buildup laban sa ghost projects,” he said.

(We are suggesting that DPWH release data identifying which projects are not ghost projects so we can limit the scope and focus on building cases against the ghost projects.) — RSJ, GMA Integrated News