The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reported Tuesday that its ongoing inspection of infrastructure sites across the country has uncovered 252 “ghost” flood control projects since 2016.

AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla disclosed that the military identified the nonexistent projects after inspecting 10,000 sites nationwide.

Earlier, the AFP and the Philippine National Police were tasked by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to inspect a total of 30,000 projects due to the security forces’ nationwide presence.

“From the 30,000, 10,000 were already inspected for the side of AFP. It turned out that a total of 252 of what we inspected are ghost projects from 2016 to present,” Padilla said, citing that 20,000 more sites remain to be checked.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon recently tapped the AFP and PNP, providing them with coordinates for the supposed project locations. The military’s site assessment includes physical verification, documentation, and photographic evidence to confirm the infrastructure’s existence.

Padilla confirmed that the AFP has already submitted reports on the 252 ghost projects to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to support its ongoing investigation into the controversy.

“We are continuously conducting inspections on our end to complete what’s required of us to inspect all 30,000 projects,” Padilla said.

She added that the military is working in tandem with the PNP across the country to accomplish the task simultaneously and will provide the complete report to the commission to “facilitate and fast-track their investigation.”