29/08/2025
#๐ข๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฝ๐๐ฑ: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ โ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐โ ๐๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ-๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐; ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐
Every rainy season, we brace for the unfortunate familiarity: flooded streets in a span of hours, stalled commuters, and homes submerged in dirty water. Meanwhile, the government lauds billions spent on โflood control projects.โ Yet when the rain comes, we still suffer the same fate. The suspicion: where did those projects go?
These are often labeled โghost projects,โ but the truth is, there is nothing spectral or unseen about them. The deceit behind them is right there in broad daylight, as allegations of corruption and misused public funds continue to hound certain contractors and officials from agencies like the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) who appear to operate with impunity.
Examine the recent scandal in Bulacan: a โฑ55.7 million payout for a supposed concrete river wall in Baliwag where, upon inspection by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., it was discovered that construction had not even started, despite being nearly six months past the scheduled commencement. The contractor for the suspected project, SYMS Construction Trading, has since been blacklisted and is currently facing charges, but the issue runs far deeper than one sham project. The Commission on Audit (COA) under Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba, ordered a fraud audit dated August 20, 2025, revealed that Bulacan, which has absorbed nearly 45% of Central Luzonโs flood-control budget since 2022, is riddled with questionable spending, while the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee's investigation on the issue dubbed โPhilippines Under Waterโ, headed by Committee Chairperson Senator Rodante Marcoleta, uncovered how only around 40% of project funds actually made it to the ground. The rest are absorbed through contractor monopolies, mismanagement, and failure in accountability. In short, Bulacan isnโt just being battered by rain; itโs being bled dry by corruption that parades itself as flood control, leaving its residents to drown in both water and betrayal.
But this is not just a โLuzon story.โ Take Bacolod, for instance. Just this July 12, flooding hit at least 10 barangays, with Mandalagan among the hardest hit. And hereโs the irony: the Mandalagan area is supposed to be one of the cityโs faces of modern urbanization, with sleek new establishments like Citadines and The Row rising as its hallmark. Yet a single downpour was enough to submerge roads to the point where cars could not pass at all, turning what should be the cityโs showcase district into a swamp. It is a painful reminder that โdevelopmentโ built on weak foundations and subpar planning only leaves us with prettier skylines but the same ankle-deep floodwater. And sure, in this case, there may be no smoking gun of corruption, but that doesnโt make it any less of a betrayal of public trust. When a city sells us a vision of modern progress while ignoring basic drainage and long-term planning, weโre still being fooled, just dressed up in glass facades and marketing slogans.
All of this adds up to a picture that is impossible to ignore: the projects are not vanishing into thin air, and the funds are redirected away from their intended purpose. What we are dealing with cannot be attributed solely to failures in civil engineering or city planning, but to a deeply flawed system that turns Filipino taxpayers into unwilling funders of invisible and intangible government projects, enabled by a broken system of oversight. We are shown flashy billboards, asked to sign petitions, and yet when the rains come, the floods rise just the same, alongside our frustration.
And let us be clear: we are not fools. We may not have X-ray vision, but our โthird eyes,โ sharpened by years of daily injustice and shared experience, see through the โghostsโ and lies. We see the empty promises, the half-baked measures, the missing structures that were supposed to protect us as we feel the water rising around our ankles and into our homes. These so-called ghost projects are not elusive specters haunting us in secret; they reflect systematic issues of lapses in governance and accountability unfolding in plain sight, and we refuse to look the other way, because deep down, we know we are being deceived.
Text | Joaquin Mapa ([email protected])
Visuals | Joaquin Mapa
Editor's Note: The views and opinions of the writer do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publication and its members.
