The P55-million ghost flood control project in Bulacan is not a congressional insertion, according to Rep. Terry Ridon. He explained that the project is already included in the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP) approved by Malacañang.
Ridon said the 220-meter river wall in Barangay Piel, Baliuag, is listed by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) as a project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The contract was awarded to Syms Construction Trading for a sum of ₱55.73 million, but President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. discovered on August 20 that there has been no work done after almost six months since it was supposed to start.
Ridon added that it is difficult to pin this type of project on congressmen or senators because it is NEP-originated or comes from the executive branch. Therefore, it is not true that all the flood control projects visited by the President are congressional insertions.
In this regard, 10 officials of the DPWH-Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office have been removed while the investigation into the ghost projects is underway. Meanwhile, the President warned that those responsible for the neglected projects could be charged with economic sabotage.
This incident is part of the President's series of inspections of flood control projects, in which he repeatedly criticized contractors who are not completing their projects despite billions of funds allocated.
