By Brian Campued
“I’m not disappointed, I’m angry.”
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. expressed not just dismay but anger over a supposed P55.7 million-worth of reinforced concrete river wall project in Baliwag, Bulacan—which he found non-existent.
Marcos visited Purok 4 in Barangay Piel on Wednesday after receiving a report on sumbongsapangulo.ph about an alleged ghost project for flood control.
According to the President, the project was marked as “100% complete” and fully paid for in June 2025 based on records from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
“Walang ginawa kahit isa, kahit isang araw hindi nagtrabaho… [kahit] puntahan n’yo, wala kang makita kahit na ano,” he said after an inspection on the site where the river wall was supposedly constructed.
“If all of these projects were properly executed and implemented, ang laki nang nawala na problema sana sa atin at saka sa taumbayan… pero itong ginagawa nila talagang nakakapinsala pa sa mga local residents,” he added.
In a Facebook post, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) disclosed two official receipts showing that the DPWH Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office (DEO) paid contractor SYMS Construction Trading for the project in Baliwag on March 19 and June 30 this year.
Expected completion date for the river wall project is October 2025, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro confirmed in a press briefing at Malacañang.
The Chief Executive also warned of filing charges, such as economic sabotage, against contractors as well as government officials found accountable for substandard and ghost flood control projects.
He also urged the public to continue to report anomalies on flood control projects in their areas through the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” website.
“Uusigin kayo ng batas. Pinakakasuhan ng Pangulo ang sinumang mapapatunayang may sala at kabilang sa kontiyabahang ito,” Castro said.
The Commission on Audit (COA) has also ordered an audit of flood control projects in Bulacan, which got the most flood control projects at 668 and placed among the top 10 flood-prone areas in the country.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said it would also investigate anomalous flood mitigation projects, particularly the tax compliance of contractors.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will also blacklist erring contractors under the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Government Procurement Reform Law, according to DBM Sec. Amenah Pangandaman.
Meanwhile, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Tuesday started its probe into the alleged corruption in government flood control projects, with officials from DPWH and representatives of contracting companies present. (with reports from Kenneth Paciente, Louisa Erispe, and Harley Valbuena / PTV News)
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