ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Despite PBBM inspection, Iloilo solon insists there are no 'ghost' projects in her district

Despite PBBM inspection, Iloilo solon insists there are no 'ghost' projects in her district

Published Sep 8, 2025 08:41 pm

At A Glance

  • Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne "Jam-jam" Baronda reiterated her willingness to face any investigation pertaining to alleged anomalous or "ghost" infrastructure projects in her district.
Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne “Jam-jam” Baronda (left), President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (PPAB, Facebook)
Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne “Jam-jam” Baronda (left), President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (PPAB, Facebook)


Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne “Jam-jam” Baronda reiterated her willingness to face any investigation pertaining to alleged anomalous or "ghost" infrastructure projects in her district.
Baronda had this say amid a request for a fraud investigation into DPWH-Iloilo City District Engineering Office (ICDEO) projects facilitated for funding by her office.
“Just like what I said right after the SONA (State of the Nation Address) of President Marcos, I welcome any and all investigations into the infrastructure projects in the legislative district of Iloilo City,” Baronda said in a statement Monday, Sept. 8
“I can assure everyone that the innuendos and assertions that there are ghost and substandard projects in the city whose funding requirements have been facilitated by this representation would be proven to be falsehoods,” she added.
Baronda issued the statement after the Chief Executive criticized the delays and poor implementation of flood control projects
In his recent visit to Iloilo City, President Marcos criticized the delays and poor implementation of flood control projects following his inspection of two flood mitigation projects in Barangay San Isidro, Jaro district.
“Sa aking pagbisita sa Iloilo, nakita natin ang mga delayed at palpak na flood control projects na lalo pang nagpapalala ng pagbaha (During my visit to Iloilo, we saw the delayed and poorly executed flood control projects that are making the flooding even worse),” Marcos said in a Facebook post.
“Aside from mere allegations, NO project was identified as a ghost, and NO project was indicated as nonfunctioning. In sum, all are just propaganda,” Baronda said.
Baronda urged the Commission on Audit (COA) to conclude its probe swiftly so “that the malicious imputation would be slapped with the truth that these projects are aboveboard and are not tainted with graft and corruption.”
In an October 2022 report by the Daily Guardian, Baronda claimed she had secured ₱1 billion under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for Iloilo City’s flood mitigation program, part of the ₱6.2-billion Comprehensive Drainage Plan.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.