The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has discovered more than 60 non-existent flood control projects across the country during its inspection of infrastructure works under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), AFP Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. confirmed.
In a radio interview, Brawner said military units on the ground were given specific coordinates to verify the existence of the projects. “The latest statistics reported to me were out of the 8,000 flood control projects, there were around 60 ghost projects,” he revealed.
The inspections, requested by Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, are still ongoing and may yield higher figures once completed. The DPWH has so far assigned the AFP to check more than 16,000 infrastructure projects nationwide.
According to Brawner, the military was chosen to assist because of its wide presence across the country. “When there was a barangay development program, we were also tasked to inspect if the projects were implemented right or if there was indeed a project or none at all,” he noted.
However, the AFP chief clarified that their role is limited to verifying the existence of projects. “As of now, we don’t have that expertise. The information on ghost projects, we forward to the DPWH for the assessment of their engineers,” Brawner said.
