Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon has received more than 100 reports of ghost projects in his first two weeks in office, exposing what he described as systemic irregularities in the government’s flood control program.

At Thursday’s Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, Dizon said, “There are many more projects here that do not just have a bad performance, but no performance at all. In fact, there are many ghost projects on record.”

“We have received more than a hundred reports of ghost or very substandard projects in only two weeks,” he said, adding that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is closely coordinating with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) created by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to investigate the scandal.

The ICI is chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes Jr. with former Public Works and Highways secretary Rogelio “Babes” Singson and SGV executive Rossana Fajardo as members. Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong is a special adviser.

During the hearing, the committee cited contractor Curlee Discaya and fired DPWH district engineer Henry Alcantara in contempt and ordered their detention for allegedly lying under oath. (See related story).

Since President Marcos exposed the flood control scandal in his State of the Nation Address in July, the controversy has resulted in the resignation of DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, the ouster of Senator Francis Escudero as Senate President, and the resignation of House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

“For every report we receive, we open a case file. We inspect it, either personally or with our team. We also work with ICI, especially its special adviser, Mayor Magalong,” Dizon said.

He disclosed that many contractors had been paid for unfinished and nonexistent projects.

“Immediately, we start building a case to file. We inform the ICI and forward it to them,” he said.

Hernandez, upon receiving assurance of legislative immunity, admitted during the hearing that he and other DPWH engineers divided for among themselves the “profits” from the ghost projects.

He claimed Alcantara received the lion’s share at 40 percent, while the 60 percent was divided equally (or 20 percent each) by him (Hernandez) and engineers Paul Duya and Jaypee Mendoza.

Alcantara flatly rejected Hernandez’s revelation pertaining to their DPWH district in Bulacan.

No master plans

Beyond the ghost projects, Dizon said investigations uncovered a bigger problem — the lack of master plans.

“There’s not even a plan. Every time we inspect, the first thing I ask is to see the plan. In almost all cases, they could not show one,” he said. “Even when building a small house, you need a plan before construction. But here, hundreds of millions are spent without one.”

He said this lapse allowed questionable projects to slip through. “They could not show us a plan, so this is part of our investigation into why so many projects were allowed.”

In Quezon City, too

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte earlier flagged the same problem, disclosing that dozens of DPWH flood control projects in the city from 2022 to 2025 were unaccounted for.

From 254 projects initially identified by the local government, the number ballooned to 331 worth P17 billion after district offices submitted an updated list.

Yet, Belmonte said, only two projects had been coordinated with or approved by the city — less than one percent — in line with Quezon City’s master plan. Of the 331 projects, 66 had “location errors” — 35 had no coordinates and “cannot be found,” while 31 had wrong coordinates.

“We are seeing a very, very similar pattern in every area that we visit and in every report we get. There was little to zero coordination with local governments, provinces, or regional development councils,” Dizon said.

“The latest master plan that I know of was finished in 2013,” he added.

The hearing also touched on the sudden resignation of DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral who, the senators maintained, remains under scrutiny despite stepping down earlier this week.

Senator Rodante Marcoleta raised the matter of her absence and moved to subpoena her.

Not off the hook

“Usec. Maria Catalina Cabral was invited but I don’t see her in this room,” he said, noting that Cabral’s resignation “will not matter” to the Senate because there are personal questions she still must answer.

Dizon confirmed that he accepted Cabral’s courtesy resignation but said that she is still obliged to appear if summoned.

“Even if she is now a private citizen and no longer part of the DPWH, I’m sure if the committee requires her to attend, she still must attend,” he said.

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairperson Senator Panfilo Lacson granted Marcoleta’s motion after Senator Erwin Tulfo seconded it. “Properly seconded, so ordered,” Lacson ruled, compelling Cabral to attend the next hearing.

Senator Tulfo’s problem

The session also drew attention to WJ Construction, which was previously accused of delivering kickbacks to the Senate. Its owner, Mina Jose, admitted visiting Senator Erwin Tulfo’s office on 19 August for an ocular inspection.

“Senator Erwin’s terrace had a problem with flooding, especially when it rained,” Jose said. “I was the contractor referred by his staff, to look into a solution and suggest it to him.”

In his defense, Tulfo said he only heard of the firm through his staff. He said that on hearing Jose’s name linked to anomalous projects, he ordered the termination of all contracts with her company.

“I specifically ordered to terminate our office refurbishment project with WJ. On 11 September, I issued another memo to all employees concerned asking for an incident report, specifically the friend of Mina Jose of WJ Construction,” Tulfo said.

He added that on 18 September he issued an internal policy temporarily suspending visitor passes to his office.

“In other words, it seems like my office was used to go to the BROOM (Blue Ribbon Oversight Office Management),” Tulfo said, suggesting that Jose took advantage of her visit to see a friend there.

Jose, however, denied any involvement in questionable DPWH projects, saying her firm had not joined any bidding. “We never submitted any documents,” she said.

Despite the denials, Tulfo assured the Senate he would submit all related documents, including the design Jose proposed for his veranda and screenshots of messages between his staff and the contractor.