ICI to file 15 criminal cases over ‘ghost’ flood control projects
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Not lower than 15 criminal cases will be filed by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) before the Office of the Ombudsman in the coming weeks following an investigation into hundreds of suspected “ghost” flood control projects.
The move follows the disclosure by Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon last week that a multi-agency validation effort found 421 infrastructure projects—mostly flood control initiatives—to be non-existent.
The findings, confirmed by Dizon, came from an initial audit of 8,000 projects across the country validated by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Department of National Defense–Armed Forces of the Philippines (DND–AFP), the Department of the Interior and Local Government–Philippine National Police (DILG–PNP), and the Department of Development (DepDev).
The ICI, having integrated the initial audit data, is now ready to pursue the first batch of accountability cases.
The commission’s process for prosecution follows a swift four-week timetable:
Week 0 (Initial Validation): Joint field evaluation by DND–AFP, DILG–PNP, DepDev, and DPWH to determine if projects are existing or non-existent.
Week 1 (Technical Audit): Technical inspection of sites and audit of project documentation.
Week 2 (Case Build-Up): Finalization of complete case documentation.
Weeks 3–4 (Filing): Drafting and filing of at least 15 referrals or cases to the Ombudsman.
It will also include the issuance of Immigration Lookout Bulletin Orders (ILBO) and referrals to anti-graft bodies such as the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
The ICI investigation focuses heavily on a significant portion of the country’s vast infrastructure spending, which totaled 238,200 projects between 2016 and 2025.
The core findings include:
8,000 flood control projects initially validated.
421 suspected ghost flood control projects identified.
A specific breakdown showing 261 and 109 suspected ghost flood projects recorded from 2018 to 2024, with 30 projects found in Region 13 and 29 in the Visayas.
