The Commission on Audit (COA) has submitted four Fraud Audit Reports (FARs) to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), detailing what it called “rampant irregularities” in Bulacan flood control projects totaling ₱297 million.
In a statement, COA said the questioned projects were all carried out by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office. The contracts were awarded to Wawao Builders and SYMS Construction and Trading, both of which are currently under investigation for alleged involvement in the broader flood control corruption scheme.
COA said the projects were “found to contain serious and recurring signs of misuse of public funds.” Using the term “Audit Shock,” the commission emphasized that its inspections, satellite imagery reviews, and fraud audit procedures revealed “serious and recurring issues in the implementation” of the four projects.
According to COA, these issues included:
- “Ghost” projects — No actual flood-control or slope-protection structures at approved sites despite documents showing 100% completion.
- Unauthorized Relocation — Project sites “entirely different” from locations in approved plans, with no documentation or written authority justifying the changes, raising concerns over legitimacy.
- Payments for existing or pre-existing structures — COA noted that some riverbank or flood control structures “already existed years prior to the award or implementation,” suggesting the government may have paid for infrastructure that was already in place.
- “Egregious” documentation gaps — Material deficiencies in required documents, “effectively undermining the credibility of reported accomplishments and payments.”
COA Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba earlier ordered a fraud audit covering DPWH flood control projects in Bulacan from July 1, 2022 to May 30, 2025 to address mounting public concerns over “ghost projects” and corruption in essential infrastructure spending.