DPWH checks ghost flood control projects in Paombong and Hagonoy

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), led by Secretary Vince Dizon, inspected the alleged ghost flood control projects in the town of Paombong and Hagonoy in Bulacan on 22 August 2026.

Dizon was accompanied by Cabinet Secretary Benhur Abalos as the two inspected the town's coastal dikes and flagged a "faulty design" that failed to protect local communities, directly attributing the severe flooding to these structurally compromised barriers.

During their inspection in Paombong, the DPWH revealed that the seawalls and coastal dikes built in Barangays Masukol and Sta. Cruz were improperly designed as "inland dikes" that face the open sea of Manila Bay. Due to its location, the waves easily breached and collapsed the structures.

These flood barriers are tied to at least 29 fraud audit reports from the Commission on Audit (COA) investigating anomalous, overpriced, or "ghost" flood control projects in Bulacan's First Congressional District.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed the DPWH to prioritize immediate remediation. Emergency crews are working to temporarily plug broken gaps in the dikes while experts redesign the master plan to transition the barriers into proper open-sea coastal defenses.

In Hagonoy, the area is currently enduring prolonged, waist-deep floodwaters that have submerged several barangays for over two weeks. The situation is driven by a combination of heavy seasonal monsoon (Habagat) rains, natural high tides from Manila Bay, and major infrastructure failures.

Residents blames an unfinished floodgate structure in Barangay Iba, as the incomplete project acts as a physical barrier, accidentally blocking the natural flow of water into the river and trapping it inside the communities.

The DPWH has faced intense national scrutiny after congressional and Senate hearings revealed instances of "ghost" and substandard flood control initiatives in Bulacan. Despite a massive allocation of approximately P9.49 billion for the 1st District from 2022 to 2025, lasting drainage solutions have failed to materialize.

Frustrated by decades of recurring inundation and systemic anomalies, hundreds of residents, youth groups, and local church leaders have staged marches through the floodwaters to demand accountability and real solutions from the national government.