Outgoing DPWH chief says 15 flood control projects don’t exist

Outgoing Secretary Manuel Bonoan officially turns over the position of DPWH chief to newly appointed Secretary Vince Dizon at the DPWH Central Office on Tuesday, September 2. INQUIRER.net / MARY JOY SALCEDO

MANILA, Philippines — Former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan revealed on Tuesday that 15 out of around 1,600 validated flood control projects in the country are “non-existent” or “missing.”

Bonoan said this during a press conference after the turnover ceremony with newly appointed Secretary Vince Dizon at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) central office in Port Area, Manila.

READ: DPWH: Contractors behind ghost projects face lifetime gov’t ban

“The findings, I think what was seen there is actually there are 15 out of, I think, about 1,600 projects that seem to be non-existent,” Bonoan said in a mix of Filipino and English.

Bonoan, meanwhile, clarified that the 15 projects are not yet “ghost” projects, as these are still needing validations.

“Hindi pa naman ghost (It’s not yet ghost); these still need to be validated,” he said.

Bonoan likewise explained the difference between ghost and non-existent or missing projects, saying that “the ghost project is actually something that has been validated, and really found out not to be there.”

“It has been submitted as completed, and the funds have been collected as well. These are the ghost projects that we are talking about,” Bonoan added.

READ: Dizon to abolish Bonoan’s DPWH anti-corruption task force

“The non-existent for the time being is actually just a matter of validating the location of these projects that we are talking about,” he likewise explained.

Bonoan said all of the documents will be submitted to Dizon for further investigation.

Dizon replaced Bonoan as DPWH chief after Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accepted the latter’s resignation on Sunday. /jpv