Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon expressed dismay after inspecting a flood control project in Plaridel, Bulacan that had been declared completed last 2024 but remained unfinished.

Dizon said the flood control structure in Barangay Sipat was a “ghost project,” describing it as “patay na pinipilit buhayin.”

“Sabi dito ng DPWH, 100 percent completed ito last year pero siguro three weeks ago, umiinit, nag-iimbestiga na ang Kongreso, nagalit na ang Pangulo, pinipilit buhayin ang patay. Wala na ’to eh, ghost project na ito, klarong klaro,” he said.

Records showed that contractor Wawao Builder declared the project finished in June 2024 and collected P96 million from the government after only three months of work.

The completion papers were signed by former OIC Regional Director Henry Alcantara, former OIC District Engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez, and OIC Assistant District Engineer Jaypee Mendoza.

Dizon has dismissed Alcantara, who was under suspension previously, and said he will face criminal charges in the coming days. He added that Hernandez and Mendoza will also be dismissed.

In a text message, Alcantara said he respected Dizon’s decision.

He admitted earlier during a Senate hearing that while he trusted his staff, he considered the issue a result of his negligence.

Dizon also stressed accountability.

“Ito talaga ninakaw yung one hundred million. Pero itong hayop na Wawao na ito at kung sino man ang may-ari niyan eh talagang kailangang managot yan at kung sino man ang nag-apruba nito sa DPWH kailangan managot,” he said.

Wawao Builders has since been blacklisted permanently along with Syms Construction Trading, the contractor behind another ghost project in Baliwag, Bulacan, inspected previously by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.