MANILA – In a bombshell revelation that has intensified the nationwide fury over public fund plunder, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has flagged 252 “ghost” flood control projects – nonexistent builds meant to shield communities from monsoons – out of 10,000 inspected nationwide since 2016. The findings, part of a sweeping military-led audit ordered by Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, are set to bolster criminal cases against implicated officials and contractors, as the AFP prepares to scrutinize another 20,000 sites in a bid to unearth the full scope of the multibillion-peso scandal that’s left Filipinos drowning in both literal floods and fiscal betrayal.
The disclosure, dropped during a December 3, 2025, briefing, lays bare the rot at the heart of the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) flood mitigation efforts. “It turned out that the total of around 252 of these that we have inspected are ghost projects from 2016 to present,” AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla revealed, her words landing like a thunderclap amid the Trillion Peso March’s lingering echoes. The inspections, a collaborative grind with the Philippine National Police (PNP), involve boots-on-the-ground verifications using government coordinates – physical checks, photo evidence, and documentation – to pierce the veil of phantom progress reports.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., a key player in the Independent Commission for Infrastructure’s (ICI) technical working group on asset recovery, is steering the charge. “We continue to conduct inspections on our end to fulfill the requirement to inspect all assigned projects,” Padilla affirmed, stressing that no single region is in the crosshairs – the rot runs deep and wide. “We cannot really home in on a particular place or region. But rest assured that we will be providing a complete report to the ICI to facilitate and fast-track their investigation.” The military’s pivot from parade grounds to project probes reflects a broader ethos: In a nation scarred by typhoons like Uwan, soldiers now stand sentinel against the storm of stolen funds.
The ghost tally – part of a decade-long deluge of 30,000 flood control contracts – isn’t just numbers; it’s a national nightmare. Billions vanished into thin air, leaving dikes unbuilt and lives unspared, as whistleblowers like Zaldy Co allege a trillion-peso trail of kickbacks snaking from lawmakers to local desks. Dizon’s directive to the AFP and PNP underscores the administration’s scramble: “We want to save money,” Brawner echoed, announcing a scaled-back 90th AFP anniversary on December 15 – swapping grand galas for a simple awards rite and “boodle fight” shared meal with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “First of all, our country has gone through many calamities. The second reason is because of the ongoing corruption scandal, and because we have seen that millions—billions have been stolen from our government, we can no longer have a bongga celebration.”
For communities still mopping up from Uwan’s wrath – where rivers raged unchecked and homes became hasty arks – the AFP’s unearthings feel like a long-overdue dawn. As the ICI awaits the full dossier, this ghost hunt isn’t just an audit; it’s an exorcism, chasing the specters of graft from the ledgers of power. In a Philippines where every peso counts and every flood scars, the military’s march into the muck signals one truth: Accountability’s parade has just begun.