Baliwag: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday vowed to hold accountable those responsible for a so-called "ghost project" in Baliwag, Bulacan, expressing outrage over false reporting on the status of a reinforced concrete riverwall project in the city. During an inspection of the area where the riverwall was supposedly constructed, Marcos found no trace of the structure.
According to Philippines News Agency, Marcos said he was 'angry' and 'extremely disappointed' to find that the flood control project, which had been marked '100 percent complete' and fully paid for based on government records, did not exist. 'As of last month, June, ang report dito: 100 percent complete at saka fully paid. Wala kaming makita. Kahit isang hollow block, kahit isang ano ng semento, walang equipment dito. Lahat itong project na ito, ghost project. Walang ginawa na trabaho dito (the report said this was 100 percent complete and fully paid. But we can't see anything. Not a single hollow block, not a trace of cement, no equipment here. This entire project is a ghost project. No work was done at all),' he said after the site inspection.
The 220-meter reinforced concrete riverwall, which SYMS Construction Trading was supposed to build at Piel village in Baliwag town, was envisioned to help prevent flooding in the surrounding areas. Marcos revealed that the government, through the Sumbong sa Pangulo website, received a report regarding the project contract, valued at PHP 55,730,911.60.
He lamented that the supposed project site remains untouched, raising the possibility that the implementation was subcontracted multiple times, making records difficult to trace. 'Ang kataka-taka, hindi namin mahanap itong kontratang ito. So, hinahanap pa rin namin. Hindi namin malaman, siguro sinubcontract nang husto (What's puzzling is, we can't find the contract. We're still looking for it. Maybe it was subcontracted heavily),' he said.
'Siguro naka-layer ng subcontractor kaya walang record. 'Yung record nasa contractor na nakakuha ng kontrata, siguro 'yung record nasa kanila at saka subcontractor. 'Yun ang kailangan namin hanapin ngayon dahil maraming napalitan ng district engineer. Kaya't 'yung mga bago, hinahanap pa ang mga record (Maybe there are too many subcontracting layers, so there are no clear records. The documents might be with the main contractor or the subcontractors. That's what we need to track down now, especially since many district engineers have been replaced. We are still looking for the records of the new ones),' he added.
Marcos described the project as a 'perfect example of the abuse that is being done by some of the contractors.' 'It's another example of the kind of problems that we have been facing. Starting since we put up the website, ang dami talagang sumusulat (many reports have been coming in),' he said.
'So, we'll keep going. Very ongoing naman ang ating mga investigation. Pinag-aaralan namin lahat, tinitignan namin lahat ng mga sinusumbong sa amin and we will not stop. We will keep going until ma-identify nang mabuti at makasuhan nang mabuti itong lahat (Our investigations are ongoing. We study and look into all complaints, and we will not stop. We will continue until all involved are properly identified and charged),' Marcos added.
In a Facebook post, Marcos said all government officials who authorized and conspired in the so-called ghost project will be suspended and charged for violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and for malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents. He added that the SYMS Construction Trading will be immediately blacklisted and will face legal action under the Revised Penal Code and Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act).
'Hindi natin palalampasin ito (We will not let this pass),' he said. 'Ituloy ninyo ang pagpapadala ng inyong ulat sa sumbongsapangulo.ph. Sama-sama nating wawakasan ang katiwalian at sisiguraduhin na ang pera ng taumbayan ay napupunta sa proyektong para sa tao (Continue sending your reports to sumbongsapangulo.ph. Together, we will put an end to corruption and ensure that the people's money goes to projects that truly serve the public).'
