IS THE PROBE SELECTIVE?: No cases in Bicol DPWH ghost projects still haunt

By MANUEL T. UGALDE

LEGAZPI CITY --- Despite the much-publicized presidential probe that cast the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Bicol as deeply mired in corruption, not a single engineer in the region has reportedly been charged by the now-defunct Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. created the ICI on September 11, 2025, following his State of the Nation Address, where he revealed that billions of pesos allocated for flood control projects nationwide had allegedly gone to “ghost projects,” initially pointing to Regions IV-A and IV-B and later extending to Bicol.

The ICI probe also coincided with two controversial deaths involving DPWH engineers in the region. On November 13, 2025, a 60-year-old engineer from the DPWH Sorsogon 1st District Engineering Office reportedly took his own life, allegedly due to pressures linked to the investigation.

A week later, another engineer assigned to the planning division of the DPWH regional office in Legazpi died. Then regional director Virgilio Eduarte dismissed the second case as “fake news,” citing an autopsy report indicating death by heart attack, although some officials linked it to the ongoing probe.

In his report, Marcos named at least 10 “notorious contractors” allegedly involved in anomalous flood control projects amounting to around P600 billion. Among them were Centerways Construction and Development Corp., owned by Lawrence Lubiano of Sorsogon, and Sunwest Construction and Development Corp. in Legazpi City, owned by former congressman Zaldy Co, who has reportedly gone into exile after being linked to the controversy.

Despite reports that DPWH officials in other regions, such as Bulacan and Mindoro, have been charged and detained, no similar cases have been filed against engineers in Bicol. This is despite the region receiving one of the largest infrastructure allocations in recent years—over P80 billion in 2024 alone, including billions for flood control projects from 2022 to 2025.

DPWH insiders disclosed that investigators from the National Bureau of Investigation had been probing the regional office for months over alleged ghost and substandard projects. However, Eduarte consistently maintained that no ghost projects existed across the region’s 16 district engineering offices.

This assertion was challenged on March 12, 2026, when Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. personally inspected a farm-to-market road project in Barangay Lower Binogsacan, Guinobatan, Albay, and declared it a “ghost project” after it could not be located in any of the three sites listed in official records.

Questions have since been raised over the apparent lack of accountability in the region. Critics noted that despite strong pronouncements from former DPWH secretary Vince Dizon that “no one would be spared,” the investigation appeared to have spared Bicol.

The region has long been tagged as among the most corruption-prone within the DPWH, based on earlier findings by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission during the Duterte administration.

Retired banker Armando Uy of Banco de Oro’s Legazpi branch expressed frustration over the lack of charges. He noted that aside from the reassignment of Eduarte to the DPWH central office in February, no significant administrative or criminal actions have been reported against officials in the region.

Leadership changes followed, with Kadaffy Tanggol appointed as new regional director and Engineer Ferdinand Dallo as assistant regional director. Both are considered outsiders to Bicol. Tanggol previously headed the Compostela Valley regional office, which had been flagged for alleged corruption issues, including controversial infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, members of the media have raised concerns over continued restrictions at the DPWH regional office in Legazpi, limiting access to officials for interviews. These restrictions have sparked protests from some media groups.

Administrative officer Doris Losantas denied the existence of media restrictions for legitimate journalists, explaining that tighter controls were implemented due to individuals posing as journalists to solicit funds from the agency.