Amidst the administration’s major investigation into the defective, unfinished, and outright inexistent programs.
On Wednesday, August 20, the team led by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. headed to Baliuag, Bulacan to inspect on one of the flood control projects there, specifically the reinforced concrete river wall in Purok 4, Barangay Piel.
However, he became angry upon discovering that the stated project, where the contractor had already received payment for, was not even started.
“I’m more than disappointed. I’m actually getting very angry. This is what’s happening here. I’m not disappointed, I’m angry,” said the President.
According to President Marcos, records at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) showed that the 220-meter-long reinforced concrete riverwall project, was already completed along with full payment of PHP 55 million.
Immediately, President Marcos ordered an investigation into what he described as a “ghost” project and mulled the filing of charges for falsification and economic sabotage against the contractor.
“Kitang-kita naman na hindi completed. So, immediately, that’s a falsification. That’s already a very big violation,” Marcos stated. “And for the big ones, talagang I’m thinking very hard – pipilahan natin sila ng economic sabotage because economic sabotage is very clear.”
However, he also noted that the project review is still underway and is still trying to identify the contractor, as the project involved multiple layers of subcontractors and that some documents are unavailable.
“Walang ginawa, kahit isang araw hindi nagtrabaho. Wala. Wala kang makita. Puntahan ninyo, wala kayong makita kahit na ano. Tuloy-tuloy ang pagbaha doon sa kabila,” added the chief executive.
President Marcos said that if these projects had been properly executed and implemented, they could have addressed not only the flooding problems, but irrigation needs and household water supply as well.
In the near-term, though, the flood control project still needs to be built to prevent damages in the area during inclement weather.