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December 4, 2025 | 7:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The flood control investigations have uncovered hundreds of multi-million-peso substandard and ghost projects. The Commission on Audit's latest report makes the scale even clearer after it flagged 747 "unusable or idle" infrastructure projects worth P6.5 billion in 2024 alone.
Released on Tuesday, December 2, the COA report revealed that the Department of Public Works and Highways' oversight lapses led to hundreds of defective projects after they failed to meet contract standards, leaving the public without the promised benefits.
Western Visayas suffered the most, with 130 projects worth P3.5 billion riddled with cracks, pavement damage and structural defects, auditors found. These include projects in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Capiz and Antique. The region's defective projects already take up more than half of the flagged cost.
In Lanao del Norte and Misamis Oriental, 73 DPWH projects were flagged as either substandard or incomplete, even though they were reported finished, with a combined value of P1.5 billion.
Other flagged projects showed a range of deficiencies, including overpayment beyond actual work completed, inflated contract costs, structural cracks, pavement and concrete damage, water leaks, incomplete painting, missing structures, non-functional components, potholes, soil erosion and unnecessary items, among others.
Apart from the 747 projects, auditors also discovered 69 infrastructure projects valued at P5.3 billion with problems in implementation. These were projects in the Ilocos Region, particularly Pangasinan, and Mimaropa.
The delays and damages were primarily attributed to inclement weather, missing local, environmental and right-of-way permits. The most serious deficiency flagged, however, was how some projects showed no actual work at the site despite contractors claiming advance payments.
"The foregoing technical defects and deficiencies may compromise the safety of the public, cause further destruction of the infrastructures and ultimately result in the wastage of government funds and resources if not immediately addressed," the report read, referring to the agency's failure to comply with procurement laws.
The concerned DPWH offices in these regions agreed to address the deficiencies and "ensure the timely completion of the projects to prevent them from being unusable or idle."
COA's recommendations
State auditors urged several DPWH district engineering offices and regional offices nationwide to compel concerned contractors in defective projects to immediately repair, rectify and correct the deficiencies found. If contractors fail to do so, COA said they may be blacklisted from future government bids.
The offices should also submit their justifications and necessary documents to prove the suspected questionable or excessive payments made were actually proper and needed for the project.
Most of all, COA said the DPWH should improve its oversight functions by directing implementing offices and inspectorate teams to conduct regular and periodic monitoring of all projects.
The offices ordered to comply include the regional management offices and numerous district engineering offices (DEOs) across the country: five in the Cordillera Administrative Region, one in Ilocos, 11 in Cagayan Valley, one in Central Luzon, seven in Mimaropa, seven in Bicol, two in Eastern Visayas, two in Zamboanga Peninsula, nine in Central Visayas, five in Northern Mindanao, and the two in Caraga.
Regional offices also involved include those in Cagayan Valley, Mimaropa, Eastern Visayas and the Caraga Region.
Overall, state auditors identified 39 problems with the DPWH's projects and operations in 2024.
