Marcos orders contractor blacklisted over ‘ghost’ Bulacan flood project

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday ordered the immediate blacklisting and filing of charges against a construction firm over a “ghost” flood control project in Bulacan, where more than P55 million in public funds were allegedly paid for a non-existent river wall.

The President personally inspected the project site in Baliuag after receiving a report through the sumbongsapangulo.ph platform and found no trace of the supposed concrete structure.

“Mahigit P55 milyon ang binayad para sa concrete river wall. Bayad na mula pa noong Hunyo, pero sa inspeksyon, wala ni isang hollow block na makita (Over P55 million was paid for the concrete river wall. It was already paid since June, but during the inspection, not a single hollow block could be seen),” Marcos said in a Facebook post.

“At hindi pa ito kasama sa listahan ng flood control projects na isinumite ng DPWH. Bakit ito itinago? Hindi na kayo nahiya! (And this isn’t even included in the list of flood control projects submitted by the DPWH. Why was this hidden? Have you no shame?),” he added.

The construction company, SYMS Construction Trading, will face criminal charges under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019), and for malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents, the Palace confirmed.

“Ang SYMS Construction Trading ay agad na iba-blacklist at haharap sa mga kaso sa ilalim ng Revised Penal Code at RA 3019. Hahanapin at sisiyasatin pa natin ang iba pa nilang proyekto (SYMS Construction Trading will be immediately blacklisted and will face charges under the Revised Penal Code and RA 3019. We will also locate and investigate their other projects),” he stressed.

Marcos also vowed to hold accountable all public officials who authorized or conspired in the fraudulent transaction.

“Hindi natin palalampasin ito. Sususpendihin at kakasuhan ang lahat ng opisyal na nag-authorize at nakipagsabwatan dito (We will not let this pass. All officials who authorized and conspired in this will be suspended and charged),” he warned.

The Senate earlier launched an investigation into alleged systemic corruption in infrastructure projects, amid ongoing flooding in various parts of the country despite the allocation of billions of pesos intended to resolve the problem.

The President urged citizens to remain vigilant and continue reporting anomalies in government projects through official complaint channels.

“Sama-sama nating wawakasan ang katiwalian at sisiguraduhin na ang pera ng taumbayan ay napupunta sa proyektong para sa tao (Together, we will put an end to corruption and ensure that the people’s money goes to projects that truly serve the public),” Marcos said.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), the President ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to submit a comprehensive list of all flood control projects carried out under his administration, identifying which were successful, incomplete, or non-existent.