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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Bulacan seems to be 'epicenter of ghost flood control projects' – Ombudsman

Bulacan seems to be 'epicenter of ghost flood control projects' – Ombudsman

Published Feb 17, 2026 11:42 am
So far, Bulacan seems to be the “epicenter of ghost flood control projects” in the country, the Office of the Ombudsman said.
"The way things are unravelling and unfolding, it seems that Bulacan is really the epicenter of ghost projects," Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said.
He also said: "If we look at the whole flood-control issue, it seems as though most of the reported ghost projects are in Bulacan."
But Clavano pointed out that the Office of the Ombudsman will keep its eyes peeled for similar incidents of fraud in other parts of the country. "That does not mean we will not look for it in other parts of the country," he stressed.
Clavano disclosed that there have been many organizations coming to the Office of the Ombudsman, such as Bisto.ph otherwise known as "Bisto Proyekto," a citizen-powered monitoring website where netizens are encouraged to "monitor government infrastructure projects."
He likened the website to a "crowdsourcing" tool where the people themselves can share whether or not flood control projects within their areas are real or not.
So far, the Office of the Ombudsman has filed two cases before the Sandiganbayan involving the P92.8 million flood control scam in Pandi, Bulacan. The two charges - one for violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and the other for violation of Articles 171 and 172 of the Revised Penal Code on malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents.
This month, the Commission on Audit (COA) filed before the Ombudsman four fraud audit reports (FAR) involving P275 million “ghost” projects implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan District and contractors Syms Construction Trading and Wawao Builders.
Last January, the COA submitted four FARs before the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) involving the P325 million "ghost" flood-control projects in Bulacan, with contractors Wawao Builders and Darcy and Anna Builders & Trading.
Last December, the COA shared with the ICI four FARs involving P330 million "ghost" flood-control projects in Bulacan, which were implemented by the DPWH Bulacan District and Wawao Builders.
Last November, the COA submitted four FARs involving P344.35 million ghost Bulacan flood control projects implemented by the DPWH Bulacan District and contractors Syms Construction Trading, M3 Konstract Corporation, Elite General Contractor & Development Corporation, and Wawao Builders.
In October 2025, the COA submitted two reports to the ICI -- the first one involved four FARs involving four "fully paid" ghost flood-control projects in Bulacan worth P351 million, which involved contractors Syms Construction Trading, Topnotch Catalyst Builders, Inc., and Triple 8 Construction and Supply, Inc.
The second report involved four FARs on P309.55 million ghost projects implemented by the DPWH Bulacan District with contractors Syms Construction Trading, L.R. Tiqui Builders, Inc., M3 Konstract Corp., and Darcy & Anna Builders & Trading.
The first filing by the COA was on Sept. 8, 2025 involving five FARs on the P342.66 million ghost and substandard flood-control projects in Bulacan implemented by Wawao Builders, St. Timothy Construction Corporation, and Syms Construction Trading.
Aside from the Bulacan case, two other cases have been filed -- one case also before the Sandiganbayan, and the other case before the regional trial court (RTC) in Lapu Lapu City.
Several cases are still undergoing preliminary investigation before the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
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