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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider AFP flags 252 'ghost projects' in joint inspection of flood control infra with PNP

AFP flags 252 'ghost projects' in joint inspection of flood control infra with PNP

Published Dec 2, 2025 04:23 pm
Workers apply concrete and conduct plastering on a P96-million flood control structure along the Angat River in Barangay Sipat, Plaridel, Bulacan on Sept. 8, 2025. The flood mitigation project was tagged a “ghost project” after an inspection revealed that, despite being declared completed in 2024, the structure remained largely unfinished. Santi San Juan / MANILA BULLETIN)
Workers apply concrete and conduct plastering on a P96-million flood control structure along the Angat River in Barangay Sipat, Plaridel, Bulacan on Sept. 8, 2025. The flood mitigation project was tagged a “ghost project” after an inspection revealed that, despite being declared completed in 2024, the structure remained largely unfinished. Santi San Juan / MANILA BULLETIN)
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) identified on Tuesday, Dec. 2, at least 252 suspected “ghost projects” in its inspection of government-funded flood control infrastructure programs nationwide.
AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said that the findings emerged from the military’s inspection of 10,000 projects, a fraction of the 30,000 projects assigned jointly to the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) for verification by the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) .
“There were 30,000 projects assigned for joint inspection by the AFP and the PNP. Out of these 30,000 projects, the AFP has already inspected 10,000. From those we have already checked, around 252 projects were found to be ghost projects dating from 2016 to the present,” she noted.
The projects found to be non-existent are spread across the country.
“Our forces are deployed nationwide so our inspections are conducted nationwide as well. There is no single region where these are concentrated,” Padilla shared.
Padilla said reports were submitted to the ICI as soon as they were consolidated to aid the agency in fast-tracking its probe into alleged anomalies surrounding the government’s flood control programs.
“We are constantly moving. As we finish inspections, we immediately forward the results. This mandate from the ICI is something we intend to complete,” she said.
The AFP expects to continue inspections until all assigned projects are accounted for.
General Romeo Brawner Jr., AFP Chief of Staff, attended a hearing of the ICI on Monday, Dec. 1, as he is part of the technical working group on asset recovery and case build-up.
“He personally went there to show how much the Armed Forces of the Philippines values the work of the ICI, and to help speed up the investigation process because we all want to put an end to this issue,” Padilla explained.

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