The National Bureau of Investigation Central Visayas Regional Office (NBI-CEVRO) has tasked three teams to investigate flood control projects simultaneously in Cebu.

The teams checked a flood control project at mountain barangays in Cebu City, such as in Barangay Bonbon in coordination with members of the Barangay Council.

A riprap at a river in Sitio Tamarin was the first to be inspected by a team on September 23, 2025 which barangay officials described to be completed in 2021.

The NBI-CEVRO team checked the structure, but found no information post on the site that would have cited details on the project such as the contract price, measurements, among others.

After which, the other side of the project in Sitio Guila-guila was checked. The team chanced upon the foreman of the project, identified as Noli Taghoy.

Taghoy pointed out that Phase 1 has been completed, while Phase 2 was stopped because of alleged land ownership issue.

He assured structural integrity of the project, and completion on the set date.

However, he said he could not provide complete details on the project, citing he only assumed works from a previous contractor.

State investigators proceeded to Sitio Biasong where a project information, including the revetment structure, was pegged at P48,899,888. Start of the project was marked March 19, 2025 and completion date set on December 23, 2025.

According to Ardel Abiles, a worker of the construction firm tasked to handle the project, the flood mitigation structure is 569 meters long, and eyed completed by November 2025.

Further, the NBI-CEVRO team observed that there are other two slope protection projects, or ripraps, marked to have cost P96.420 million.

Atty. Rennan Augustus Oliva, NBI-CEVRO director, made it clear that the inspections are part of a case buildup on deemed anomalous flood control projects, and help determine which projects are substandard and which are ghost projects, if there indeed are any.

Barangay Bonbon is among mountain barangays they inspected based on a list provided by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Information gathered would be submitted to the task force of the Department of Justice (DOJ) that will in turn forward the information to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

Other revetment walls they will check are in Barangay Budlaan earlier reported to have collapsed.

The site inspections were done simultaneously in north and south Cebu.