The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) confirmed it has identified at least 252 suspected “ghost projects” during its ongoing inspection of government-funded flood control infrastructure programs nationwide. 

In a press briefing at the Camp Aguinaldo, AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the findings emerged from the military’s review of 10,000 out of 30,000 projects assigned jointly to the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) by the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI).

“From these 30,000 projects, 10,000  are inspected from the side of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. And it turned out that a total of around 252 of these are ghost projects from 2016 to present, ” Padilla said.

Padilla noted that the questionable projects that are classified as non-existent despite receiving funding, were spread across multiple regions, suggesting that no single area is the focal point of the anomalies.

“Our forces are deployed nationwide so our inspections are conducted nationwide as well. 

Padilla noted “there is no single region where these are concentrated.” 

All inspection reports are being forwarded to the ICI as soon as they are consolidated, Padilla added, emphasizing the AFP’s commitment to expedite the probe into alleged irregularities in the country’s flood management initiatives.

She likewise pointed out that the AFP’s inspection efforts will continue until all 30,000 assigned projects are fully accounted for.

On Monday, AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. attended an ICI hearing as part of the commission’s technical working group on asset recovery and case build-up.

Padilla said Brawner’s presence underscores the military’s “strong support” for the investigation.

“He personally went there to show how much the Armed Forces of the Philippines values the work of the ICI, and to help speed up the investigation process because we all want to put an end to this issue,” Padilla explained.