THE National Bureau of Investigation-Southern Eastern Mindanao Regional Office (NBI-Semro) has confirmed that the NBI will investigate alleged anomalies in flood mitigation works, possibly spanning from the 2016 administration to the current government.
Lawyer Arcelito Albao, director of the NBI-Semro, said earlier this week that the regional unit will only serve as a support arm to the NBI Manila Public Corruption Division, which is officially mainly handling the investigation.
“NBI Manila’s Public Corruption Division is investigating this matter. We at the regional offices are the only support,” he told local media.
Albao, however, did not directly affirm if the probe would include projects dating back to 2016, saying, “We are just about to start. We don’t know yet.” He, however, promised updates once coordination with Manila is finalized.
The NBI’s announcement coincided with the ongoing Senate Blue Ribbon Committee probe into substandard and alleged ghost flood control works across the country.
Where it all started
Allegations of “ghost” and substandard flood-control projects surfaced publicly in 2024-2025 and accelerated in 2025, after testimony to televised congressional hearings and whistleblower statements implicating contractors, engineers, and some elected officials.
However, prior to this, it was in his third State of the Nation Address, on July 22, 2024, when President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said that “over 5,000 flood control projects were completed in the past two years.”
The crisis prompted a multi-agency response, such as Senate and House probes, Commission on Audit (COA) audits, preventive suspensions, and prosecutor panels from the Office of the Ombudsman, criminal inquiries by the NBI and the Department of Justice, asset freezes by courts, and creation of a special presidential commission to investigate infrastructure anomalies.
How it unfolded
Early signs appeared as local complaints and audit flags about projects that were reported “completed” yet were visibly unfinished or nonfunctional. COA and citizen complaints (via the President’s online reporting channel) focused attention on Bulacan and other flood-prone areas that had large allocations for flood works since 2022.
That scrutiny grew into national attention in mid-2025 and exploded after televised hearings and sworn statements by former government engineers describing substandard work and alleged kickback schemes.
Testimony at the Senate Blue Ribbon hearings (including sworn statements by two former engineers) alleged projects were cut short or inflated to create kickbacks — claims that galvanized public outrage and protests and pushed multiple agencies to act.
What is being done
President Marcos ordered investigations, launched a public complaint portal, and created an independent infrastructure commission to probe anomalies.
In the Senate, meantime, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee (senators, including the committee chair), conducted televised hearings that drew whistleblower testimony and named contractors/officials.
The Office of the Ombudsman also created a special panel of prosecutors to investigate flood-control anomalies and has issued preventive suspensions of DPWH personnel in Bulacan. The NBI, through its Public Corruption Division, has been tapped to investigate alleged anomalies; regional offices are assisting Manila.
Several contractors and individuals were named in media reports, and they have been publicly scrutinized in the hearings.