The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday reported that it had identified 252 ghost flood control projects after inspecting 10,000 infrastructure sites nationwide.

According to AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, around 20,000 more projects are still set for inspection, as the AFP has been tasked to inspect a total of 30,000 infrastructure projects across the country in collaboration with the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“From the 30,000, 10,000 were already inspected on the side of the AFP. It turned out that a total of 252 of what we inspected are ghost projects from 2016 to present,” Padilla explained in a mix of English and Filipino.

The AFP and the PNP were recently tapped by Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon to assist in the inspection through their nationwide presence. The security forces were provided with the coordinates of the supposed project locations to verify whether the infrastructure actually exists.

Site assessments conducted by the AFP include physical verification, documentation, and photographic evidence. Padilla said the inspections will continue until all 30,000 projects have been covered.

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

The AFP spokesperson added that the military has already submitted reports on the 252 ghost flood control projects to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to support its ongoing investigation into the controversy.

“This has spread all over the Philippines. AFP deployment is nationwide. All inspections are being done in tandem so that we can accomplish this simultaneously. We really cannot hone in on a specific region, but rest assured, we will be giving the complete report to the ICI for them to facilitate and fast-track their investigation,” Padilla said in Filipino.