MANILA – The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) on Monday said more than a dozen cases will be filed before the Ombudsman in the coming weeks in connection with ghost flood control projects.
“(A)t least 15 referrals to the Ombudsman (are) ready to be filed in the next 2-3 weeks,” a press briefer from the body said.
In a press briefing, ICI executive director Brian Keith Hosaka said there are 421 suspected ghost flood control projects across the country --261 in Luzon, 109 in the Visayas and 51 in Mindanao.
“The number is culled from the 8,000 flood control projects from 2018 to 2024 initially validated by the armed forces, the police, the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DepDev) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH),” he said.
Most projects are in Central Luzon (67), Bicol Region (49) and Eastern Visayas (45). In Mindanao, 30 projects in Davao region are being evaluated.
The ICI said that following the initial field evaluation whether the projects exist, the next stage is technical inspection and audit of documentation for case build-up and complete case documentation.
The drafting and filing of a case with the Ombudsman come after, to be followed by the application for an immigration lookout bulletin order, and referral to the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Civil Service Commission, Professional Regulatory Commission and the Insurance Commission (IC).
Department of Justice officer-in-charge Fredderick Vida, meanwhile, urged the public to keep their trust in government and uphold the rule of law.
“Ang susi lang naman nito sa lahat ng sinasabi ko ay tingnan niyo yung resulta (The key here is the end results). In the coming weeks, we will be filing the appropriate cases in coordination with the Ombudsman and the ICI,” Vida said.
“At the end of the day, we should follow the rule of law. Nananawagan ako sa lahat ng ating kababayan, hindi lang palamuti dapat yung phrase na rule of law. Napakalaking bagay na hayaan natin ang bawat institusyon na gumana. Kasi pag nagshortcut tayo, diyan tayo nagkakaroon ng problema (I call on our countrymen to understand that the phrase rule of law is not just a decoration. It is very important that we allow all our government institutions to function. If we take shortcuts, then we will have problems),” he added. (PNA)