The P55-million reinforced concrete wall project in Baliuag, Bulacan, found to be “ghost” or non-existent, was not a congressional initiative but a proposal by the executive under the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted to Congress.
House Infrastructure Committee co-chair Terry Ridon confirmed this on Tuesday ahead of the panel’s looming probe into the alleged anomalies in the Department of Public Works and Highways’s P545.64 billion flood control projects involving members of Congress.
Citing public records, Ridon said the 220-meter riverwall project constructed by Syms Construction Trading was outlined in the 2025 NEP and a line item in the 2025 General Appropriations Act.
The executive or the President prepares the NEP, which the Department of Budget and Management submits to Congress for approval. The NEP serves as the basis of the House to craft the General Appropriations Bill, which, if enacted, becomes the government spending law, also known as the General Appropriations Act.
“Bulacan ghost project is a NEP-originated project, not a congressional initiative-originated project,” Ridon clarified.
Based on the records provided by the lawmaker, the riverwall project was allocated P60 million under the DPWH in the 2025 NEP. It was the same figure that reflected in the 2025 GAA.
Ridon argued that these records alone could confirm that the “ghost” and botched projects being flagged by President Marcos Jr. shouldn’t be attributed to Congress as insertions in the 2025 GAA.
“They always mentioned that congressmen have cuts […] yet many of the places that the President has visited are not congressional insertions,” Ridon said in an interview in Filipino. “These are NEP-originated projects. Meaning, this is an executive proposal. So it's difficult to say that congressmen, the senators, interfered here.”
Apart from the “ghost” riverwall in Baliuag, Ridon claimed that other faulty projects that the executive proposed in the 2025 NEP include the deteriorating P380-million dike in San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro, the P260-million rockshed at Tuba, Benguet, and the botched P96.4-million flood control project by St. Timothy in Calumpit, Bulacan, all of which were inspected by Marcos himself.
"So let's clear it: the St. Timothy project in Bulacan, the Syms Construction ghost project, the rockshed project in Benguet, these things are NEP-originated projects,” the solon averred.
Marcos went ballistic after personally inspecting the river wall in Baliuag last week, only to discover it was nonexistent. There’s no indication that the project started, despite it being declared “completed” on the DPWH’s records. The riverwall was supposed to be constructed as early as February.
Malacañang confirmed that they will press charges of Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019), and malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents against the construction firm Syms.
In his fourth State of the Nation Address in late July, Marcos warned he would not approve a proposed budget that deviates from the NEP regardless of whether it results in a reenacted budget.
The stern warning came on the heels of allegations of Congress budget insertions in this year’s national budget.
The 2025 GAA, initially set at P6.352 trillion, was trimmed to P6.326 trillion after Marcos vetoed P194 billion worth of line items deemed inconsistent with his administration’s priority programs, including P16.7 billion for flood control projects.
Senator Panfilo Lacson earlier claimed that 67 House members in the previous Congress had complete control over the project funds because either they or their relatives were the contractors for the government’s flood mitigation program.
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong made a similar accusation, alleging that lawmakers were receiving 30 to 40 percent kickbacks from the flood-control and infrastructure projects.
The government has already poured P545.64 billion into flood control projects since Marcos assumed office in July 2022, up to May this year. Despite the hefty funds, Metro Manila and nearby provinces are still prone to floods, fueling speculations of substandard work and corruption.
Earlier this month, the Chief Executive revealed that 20 percent of the P545.64 billion went to only 15 firms out of 2,400 contractors, bagging P100 billion.