(UPDATE) JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Monday confirmed the discovery of at least three ghost flood control projects in Bulacan worth nearly P300 million and announced the creation of a special task force under his department to investigate systemic corruption in infrastructure spending.
At a press briefing, Remulla said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) validated the existence of the anomalies using coordinates submitted through the Isumbong Mo Kay Pangulo website, an online platform that allows citizens to report irregularities in government projects.
“The three coordinates of the ghost projects are already there, so they’re just tying up the loose ends so we can file a case on that,” Remulla said. “The projects don’t exist in the First District of Bulacan.”
The NBI’s on-site validation confirmed that the supposed flood control works were nonexistent, each project package valued at between P95 million and P100 million.
“On average, that would be P300 million,” Remulla said.
Plunder or malversation
The justice chief said investigators are preparing charges, with possible complaints for plunder or malversation of public funds.
“Malversation might be the easier one to prove because plunder has many requirements,” he said. “Plunder can be an alternative prayer, but malversation might be the better crime to charge since it has the same effect in terms of penalty.”
Under the Revised Penal Code, malversation involving amounts above P8.8 million carries the penalty of life imprisonment.
Remulla, however, stressed that there are no final respondents yet, as the probe is still developing.
He said investigators are exploring the possibility of a conspiracy involving multiple actors.
“We’re looking at the different liabilities of each party. Because you have the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways), you have the contractor, [and] in between a politician, and we will have to look at it completely,” he said in English and Filipino.
Asked if a politician could be implicated, Remulla said: “It is very possible.”
But he emphasized that the investigation requires painstaking forensic work.
“This is not something you can grasp at a glance. You have to study the terrain, the movement of money. There are many things you have to analyze here,” Remulla said.
DOJ task force
To accelerate the probe, the DOJ has formed a special composite task force chaired by Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon, with the NBI’s Public Corruption Division as lead investigator. The team includes forensic financial analysts tasked with tracing the flow of public funds.
NBI Director Jaime Santiago said the agency’s deputy director for investigation has already mobilized teams to pursue the Bulacan cases and similar complaints in other provinces. An initial report is expected within the week.
The DOJ has also issued immigration lookout bulletin orders against at least 43 people linked to the projects to prevent them from leaving the country.
The NBI said it is prepared to coordinate with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), a body tasked to investigate anomalous public works, particularly flood control projects long plagued by corruption allegations, to ensure a “thorough and coordinated” inquiry into infrastructure corruption.
Widening probe
The DOJ task force’s mandate goes beyond ghost projects in Bulacan, extending to allegations of bid-rigging, overpricing and fund misuse in the DPWH flood control programs — historically criticized as among the most corruption-prone in government spending.
“The goal is to get to the bottom of these irregularities and hold those responsible accountable,” Santiago said.
Remulla said the DOJ is determined to send a strong signal: “We will throw the whole book at these people. This crime of graft and corruption is unprecedented. Everything about prosecuting crimes against the people — we will pursue it.”
He urged the public to continue reporting anomalies through official channels, saying this case could mark a turning point in how the government deals with entrenched corruption.
