House Committee on Public Accounts Chair and Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon on Friday posted on his Facebook a seemingly generated image of a “ghost” sculpted from sand on a beach as his Halloween greeting.

The post included only the caption “trick or treat mula sa” (trick or treat from), but some commenters referred to it as “dolomite” and a “ghost of the past.”

Recently, Ridon said the committee’s hearing on the Manila Bay Dolomite Beach Project could start in November, with invitations to be sent once the panel reconvenes.

“This Dolomite Beach hearing of Public Accounts, hopefully we start it within November,” Rep. Ridon said in Filipino. “Once we’re back, we will be sending invitations.”

Ridon explained that the investigation would examine whether certain Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects were necessary, drawing parallels with alleged fraudulent flood control projects.

“So it’s not just a question of overpricing. It’s also a question of whether these projects were even necessary in the first place,” he said. “And the same question will be asked in the dolomite beach project hearing. Was the project actually necessary, especially since it was never part of the NEDA master plan for Manila Bay rehabilitation?”

The artificial beach was created in 2020 during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte. Ridon stressed that the probe is not an attack on the Duterte administration.

“The Independent Commission for Infrastructure proceedings go back 10 years, starting from 2015, and the dolomite beach project was what? 2020? That clearly falls within the period we’re examining,” he said.

The lawmaker added that although the project was initiated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), its implementation was still under the DPWH.

“They cannot say this is a specific Duterte attack. It’s part of our broader review of DPWH-implemented projects,” Ridon said.