DAVAO CITY – The mayor of the remote coastal town of Jose Abad Santos in Davao Occidental, where a P96-million ghost flood control project was discovered, has hinted that there are still some alleged anomalous infrastructure projects in his town.

“Marami pa pong ibang ghost at substandard projects sa amin gaya ng kalsada (We have more ghost and substandard projects in our municipality like roads),” Jose Abad Santos Mayor Jason John Joyce wrote on his Facebook page on Sept. 25.

Joyce posted his statement about a few hours after Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon and Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) Special Adviser Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong inspected a flood control project in Barangay Culaman.

The mayor added that he was surprised to learn that the controversial Discaya-owned Saint Timothy Construction Corp. implemented a project in his town.

Saint Timothy Construction Corp. is one of nine construction firms owned by controversial contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya.

During the inspection, Dizon and Magalong discovered that construction work apparently started about three weeks ago.

In a press briefing, Dizon disclosed that the project was declared completed in 2022 and full payment was released in October the same year.

Records at the sumbongsapangulo.ph website indicated that construction commenced on Feb. 24, 2022 and marked as completed on Oct. 2 of the same year.

The project was among those flagged through the Sumbong sa Pangulo website and included in the agency’s list of questionable infrastructure initiatives.

A video of Dizon confronting District Engineer Rodrigo Larete went viral after the DPWH chief scolded the engineer on site over the release of full payment despite the project’s unfinished state.

“You will not pay (for a project) if it’s not completed, right? But since this is not your money—this is the taxpayers' money—you pay for it so your disbursement rate appears high. Is that your excuse?” Dizon asked.

Residents spoke with Magalong and attested that construction only began less than a month ago.

Dizon suspended construction works and the site was declared a crime scene.

Joyce’s Facebook post has gained support from his constituents with a hope to improve the road conditions in the municipality.

The mayor clarified in the comment section that the flood control project was implemented with prior consultation with the local government.

Joyce also bared unfinished portions of the national highway in the municipality.

But it has long been reported as completed. “Kaya hindi na mapondohan ‘yung ibang parte kasi sa record ng gobyerno, matagal nang tapos (The other parts were unfunded as it was reported completed),” the mayor added.

Joyce disclosed that he was told to keep quiet because it would only endanger his life. “Hindi lang po nakaw na pera, pero ninakawan din po kami ng mga kababayan ko ng disenteng buhay (Not only money was stolen. A decent life was also from my constituents).”

The mayor said that they are hoping that all infrastructure projects in his municipality will be completed, particularly road networks.

A working student from Jose Abad Santos told Manila Bulletin that there are portions of the highway that remains unfinished for over five years.

She added that some parts of the highway are unfinished for about 50 meters. There's also portion that is unpaved for about 400 meters.

"There are times that we would spend a night on the road because the vehicle could not climb the steep and unpaved part of the road during rainy days," she said.

With a population of over 73,000 people, Jose Abad Santos is one of the remote towns in Davao Occidental and is at least 200 kilometers south of this city.

Access to this first-class town is one of the most challenging routes among motorists and travelers.