Dizon discovers ‘ghost’ flood control projects in Oriental Mindoro
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon. INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
MANILA, Philippines — Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon on Tuesday uncovered three “ghost” flood control projects in Oriental Mindoro, warning that those behind the projects will be held accountable.
Dizon and Oriental Mindoro Governor Humerlito Dolor inspected flood control projects in Barangay Tagumpay, Naujan.
They found that projects in Panggalan River, Tubig River, and Catuiran River had no ongoing construction despite being listed in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
“I don’t see any project here. This is just an illusion—I don’t see any project,” Dizon said in Filipino.
READ: Oriental Mindoro flood control projects suspended, joint assessment set
“The purpose of the GAA is for us to know where the project is. That is why we have line-item budgeting, so that the details are clear, the public can see them, and people can determine whether a project exists or not,” he added.
Dizon and Dolor also criticized the incomplete structure of a flood control project in the barangay, where they personally measured the height of a sheet pile buried in the ground.
They found that the sheet pile extended only about three meters, far short of the 12 meters specified in the project plan.
Dizon also flagged “patterns” of railroaded implementation of flood mitigation projects in the province. Through Dolor, he learned that the projects followed the same sequence of awarding bids, issuing notices to proceed, paying contractors, and signing contract agreements.
Recently, Dizon inspected a P96.5-million “ghost” flood control project in Barangay Sipat, Plaridel, Bulacan, where he discovered that construction had begun only three weeks ago despite the project being tagged as complete on the Sumbong sa Pangulo website. The project was awarded to Wawao Builders, one of 15 firms that secured most flood control projects from July 2022 to May 2025.
READ: DPWH, COA ask Ombudsman: Sue contractors in flood control scams
On Monday, Dizon and Commission on Audit Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba submitted a letter to Acting Ombudsman Dante Vargas, attaching fraud audit reports that detailed irregularities in the implementation of government-funded flood control projects under the Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office.
The projects involved contractors Wawao Builders, Syms Construction Trading, and St. Timothy Construction Corporation, which is linked to Sarah Discaya.
The fraud audit report named several officials as liable for alleged irregularities, including dismissed Bulacan First District Engineer Henry Alcantara, Assistant District Engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez, Project Engineer Paul Jayson Duya, and Construction Section Chief Jaypee Mendoza./mcm
