A flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro has been ordered suspended after Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon found it already defective less than a year since completion, describing it as a blatant waste of public funds.

Dizon said Tuesday that construction will remain on hold pending a review, while the former regional director behind the project has been summoned to explain. 

The 1.5-kilometer project in Barangay Tagumpay was discovered to be only three meters deep instead of the 12 meters stated in the plan.

“Clearly, it’s not a ghost project. It exists, but I immediately see a lot of major problems, not just in construction but also in the process. This points us to the structural and systemic problems within the DPWH,” Dizon said.

He described the situation as infuriating, calling it a blatant violation of contract terms. Dizon vowed to hold the contractors accountable for the defective project. 

Oriental Mindoro Governor Humerlito Dolor also flagged irregularities in the project’s procurement, pointing out that it had been split into several phases despite having the same contractor and timelines. 

“This stretch was divided into seven projects and five phases. The amounts are the same and the location is the same.

Why split it up when there’s only one contractor, one date of bidding, one date of award, one date of contract, one notice to proceed, and one date when the company received it?” he said.

The firms involved are St. Timothy Construction Corp., Elite General Contractor and Development Corp., and Sunwest Construction and Development Corp.