CEBU CITY – There are no ghost flood control projects in the fourth district of Leyte province and if there are questions, scrutiny is very much welcomed.

Officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Leyte 4th District Engineering Office pointed this out as they debunked allegations of irregularities in  projects in the towns of Albuera, Merida, and Matag-ob.

"There are no ghost projects here. All projects implemented in this district undergo proper process, monitoring, and evaluation to ensure transparency, accountability, and full compliance with the government standards," OIC District Engineer Peter Scheler Soco said in a press conference on Thursday, Sept. 11.

After the press briefing, reporters were brought to  four DPWH projects for an inspection. Two projects are in Albuera, one in Merida, and one in Matag-ob.

In Albuera, a port project is already 51 percent complete but was suspended in January due to issues on the road right-of-way and processing of permits needed to earthball magroves that would be affected in the project.

A budget of P17 million was allocated for the project.

Another project in Albuera is a flood control infrastructure in Barangay Benolho completed in October 2024 with a budget of P96 million.

Albuera Mayor Kerwin Espinosa described it as a ghost project, a claim the DPWH denied.

The agency clarified that the project in Barangay Benolho was only intended to be on one side of the river.

A Facebook post by Espinosa showed the portion of the river with no structure constructed. Soco said the portion that Espinosa showed was not part of the project.

A flood control project in Macatol Bridge, Merida was inspected after it was questioned by Mayor Lando Villacensio.

Villacensio alleged that based on the document that he obtained, the project was already marked 100 percent complete.

The mayor, however, said that upon inspection, he discovered that the project was still ongoing. Soco said that the project was 80 percent complete.

Soco explained that the discrepancy came from the agency’s Project Contract Management Application system, which automatically recorded completion because the requested extension had not been uploaded by the Central Office.

The project was scheduled to be finished in December 2024 and has an allocation of over P95 million.

Soco said they would usually request for extension due to bad weather and issues on tree-cutting permits.

During the inspection, officials showed the completed downstream part of the river that was not visited by Villacensio.

The upstream portion of the project is still being constructed.

A project in Matag-ob was inspected. A portion recently collapsed due to heavy rain.

Leyte fourth district Rep. Richard Gomez said a portion of the project collapsed since it was not yet completed and an important element of the infrastructure called “lock” had yet to be installed.

The collapse Mayor Bernie Tacoy to describe the project as substandard.

Soco denied Tacoy's allegation that there was no coordination with the local government unit (LGU) of Matag-ob when the project started.

“It’s impossible that there was no coordination. Before implementation of the projects, we go to the municipal hall or barangay hall of every LGU. We also go to the municipal engineer for proper coordination,” Soco said.

Soco said that due to the collapse, the project’s completion rate declined to 80 percent from 94 percent. The project was funded for P48.2 million and is expected to be completed in November this year.

Soco said they are ready if they are asked to face an investigation. He also assured that his office is open for government officials to discuss issues involving projects in their areas.

“We are open to a dialogue if they have some concerns. We are ready because we are not hiding anything,” Soco said.