From 2023 to 2025, the Philippine economy has lost an estimated ₱42.

3 billion to
₱118.5 billion due to fraudulent misuse of project funds that could have supported
thousands of jobs and improved lives. Ghost flood control project schemes, where
flood control systems are officially marked as completed and fully paid but do not
exist in reality, have become a major issue. Infrastructures such as flood barriers play
a vital role in ensuring public safety, especially in a disaster-prone country like the
Philippines. Despite this reality, however, government funding to address this issue
has been stubbornly directed to perpetually satisfy the self-vested interests of corrupt
officials. In Bulacan, for instance, the Department of Public Works and Highways
(DPWH) admitted that at least five flood control projects didn’t exist, while others
were only half-constructed. These revelations have prompted urgent investigations of
the President, Congress, and independent groups—ousting the anomalous government
officials and highlighting how phantom projects are not just missing, inappropriately
funded, and poorly planned substandard infrastructures, but also eroding public trust
and allowing citizens to remain exposed to danger.

The nation's infrastructure remains alarmingly vulnerable, not merely due to aging
systems, but also because of the inefficient institutional system of the
government. According to Morong (2025), in a House Committee on Appropriations
hearing, some lawmakers pointed out that big projects were dissected into smaller
projects to fit the P150-million limit so that they could be implemented by the district
instead of the regional office of the DPWH. Moreover, congressional insertions in the
budget redirected funds from national projects to local ones, therefore having the
national infrastructure programs reduced, altered, or even canceled. This weakened
the delivery of much-needed large-scale infrastructure that could have benefited the
entire nation. Besides, this decentralization has just become an opportunity for some
politicians to illegally accumulate wealth from the hard-earned taxes paid by the
people. Hence, as a consequence, substandard materials were used in anomalous
projects, and “ghost projects” have unjustly left the Filipino people naive, afraid, and
unprotected. This is not because of the storm but because of the inefficient
institutional system of the government.

In relation to that, the infirm legislation and enforcement of laws in the Philippines
has been tolerating corruption, which the people fail to know, and from which corrupt
officials and agencies get motivations to blatantly steal the hard-earned taxpayers'
money. As Senator Panfilo Lacson said in his privilege speech concerning the
anomalies of the flood control projects, more than flood control, what the Filipino
people badly need to see is greed control (Rappler, 2025). Inasmuch as just and
effective implementation of regulation is not the primary concern of the government,
projects identical to these will never be eliminated.

With all that said, to conclude, bureaucratic inefficiencies in the DPWH and persistent
conflicts between the National Government and LGUs have long undermined the
Philippines’ capacity to implement effective flood control measures. Centralized
decision-making often sidelines local governments, slowing project approvals and
blocking innovative community-based solutions (Chen et al., 2024). These failures
have far-reaching consequences where small businesses are disrupted, poverty is
exacerbated, and the poor are forced into distant relocation sites with limited access to
jobs and services, while wealthier households are able to invest in flood-proofing their
properties (Clamor et al., 2020; Pante, 2023). To break this cycle, the national
government must devolve greater authority and resources to LGUs, institutionalize
independent audits of DPWH projects, and adopt digital monitoring platforms that
publicly track project milestones and expenditures. Such reforms would not only
improve accountability but also ensure that infrastructure responds to actual
community needs. Without these measures, ghost projects will persist, public funds
will be wasted, and disaster vulnerability will continue to entrench socio-economic
inequality in the Philippines (Quetulio-Navarra, 2025).
Morong, J. (2025, September 7). Dizon meets with ex-DPWH chiefs; Singson says budget insertions
source of corruption. GMA Integrated News. Retrieved September 10,
2025,from:https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/958338/dizon-
meetswith-ex-dpwh-chiefs-singson-says-budget-insertions-source-of-corruption/story/

Inquirer.net. (2025, September 9). Marcoleta: 60 suspected ‘ghost’ flood control projects under
scrutiny. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved September 9, 2025, from:
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2105541/arcoleta-60-suspected-ghost-flood-control-projects-
under-scrutiny/amp

GMA News Online. (2025, September 6). DPWH’s Vince Dizon: Rebidding
floodcontrol projects found to be ‘ghost’ or non-existent. GMA Integrated
News. Retrieved September 9, 2025, from:
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/957774/dpwh-vince-
hizon-rebid-flood-control-ghost-project/story/?amp

Inquirer.net. (2025, September 5). DPWH engineer admits marking P55-M Bulacan
‘ghost project’ as completed. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved,
September 9, 2025, from: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2103819/dpwh-
engineer-admits-marking-p55-m-bulacan-ghost-project-as-completed/amp

Rappler. (2025, September 4). Recap video: Ghost flood control project in Plaridel,
Bulacan. Rappler. Retrieved September 9, 2025, from:
https://www.rappler.com/philippines/recap-video-ghost-flood-control-project-
plaridel-bulacan/

Morales, N. (2025, September 4). Philippine groups demand independent