DPWH: Contractors behind ‘ghost projects’ face lifetime gov’t ban
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon — Photo from DOTr Facebook page
MANILA, Philippines — Contractors found guilty of implementing “ghost projects” will face automatic lifetime blacklisting from government projects, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon announced on Monday.
The first to be blacklisted are the contractors behind the alleged ghost projects in Bulacan and Baguio City, which were discovered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself.
“I will impose a lifetime blacklisting, an immediate ban. If a contractor’s project is found to be a ghost project or proven substandard, there will be no more process, no investigation—that contractor will be automatically blacklisted for life,” Dizon said at a Palace briefing.
“And, of course, that will also carry corresponding cases, and everything we uncover will be forwarded to the independent commission that will be established by our president. They will be the ones to investigate and file the appropriate cases against DPWH personnel, the contractors and others involved in these projects that were, in the president’s own words, “simply thrown into the river,” he continued.
Dizon noted that the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) will ensure that blacklisted contractors will no longer have any means of transacting with the government.
He added that they are also studying the perpetual disqualification of contractors’ licenses.
This was one of the first three directives the secretary said he would issue as the new chief of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Dizon also said he would order a “sweeping revamp” of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board.
Moreover, he announced that he would order the courtesy resignation of all DPWH officials, from “top to bottom.”
He also said he would order a “sweeping revamp” of the PCAB and the courtesy resignation of all DPWH officials.
This includes undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, division heads, regional directors and district engineers in all DPWH offices nationwide, he added. /apl
