Former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan on Monday told senators that he was the one who reported the existence of “ghost,” or nonexistent, flood control projects in Central Luzon to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Appearing before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Bonoan said he learned of the issue only after the DPWH regional office submitted a report on August 4, 2025.
Acting on Marcos’ instruction, the agency forwarded to the Office of the President a list of 9,855 completed projects, based on a report prepared by the late Undersecretary Catalina Cabral.
“Right then and there, I went to validate myself actually where these ghost projects are, in Bulacan first engineering district. And true enough, by collaboration with members of the officials of that district and the regions, I found out that there had been some ghost projects in that area,” Bonoan said.
He added:
“And immediately, after my validation, I went to the President, and I was the one who personally reported to him (about) the potential ghost projects at that time.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who chairs the panel, had earlier alleged that Bonoan submitted erroneous grid coordinates of the ghost flood mitigation structures to the President.
Bonoan admitted he initially described the Bulacan projects as “an isolated case,” noting that no other reports had reached him at the time.
“The President told me to start investigating the ghost projects. Immediately thereafter, I relieved all the personnel of Bulacan first engineering district, and we started to undertake the investigations,” he said.
The testimony adds another layer to the ongoing probe into alleged anomalies in flood control spending, which has drawn scrutiny over accountability within the DPWH.