DAVAO CITY — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has stepped up its field inspection of flood mitigation and rehabilitation projects in Davao City, physically checking project sites along Mamay Creek and Bunawan River as investigators examine alleged irregularities involving government-funded flood control works.
During an inspection on Saturday, September 26, the NBI inspection team visited projects that had been flagged for possible irregularities, including projects that were listed in government records as completed but where investigators were seeking to verify whether the corresponding structures actually exist on the ground.
At some portions of the inspected sites, the team reportedly found no immediately visible completed flood-control structures, with areas appearing largely covered by grass and vegetation. The observations are now being subjected to further verification against project documents, engineering records, inspection reports and other evidence submitted by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The NBI has emphasized that the inspection does not, by itself, establish that a project is a “ghost project.” The bureau is still validating whether the physical conditions at the sites correspond to the projects described in official records.
The investigation is part of a broader NBI examination of flood control projects in Davao City. NBI Director Melvin Matibag earlier said investigators examined around 100 projects and identified 51 with potential red flags. Six of those projects are now being treated as strong candidates for possible ghost or nonexistent projects.
Five projects apparently pointing to one location
One of the issues being examined by the NBI involves the geographic coordinates appearing in the DPWH Transparency Portal.
Investigators are coordinating with DPWH-Davao to verify the actual coordinates of five projects that appear to point to the same location despite carrying different project titles.
MindaNews previously reported that five flood-control project entries contained the same geographic coordinate even though their descriptions referred to different locations and project titles. The coordinate identified in the records points to an area around the intersection of C.M. Recto Avenue and Bonifacio Street in downtown Davao City, rather than the river locations indicated in the project descriptions.
The NBI is expected to determine whether the apparent duplication resulted from a documentation or encoding issue, an incorrect geographic reference, or something more serious involving project implementation and funding.
The bureau has also identified a separate funding pattern in which one geographic coordinate allegedly received funding five times within a single General Appropriations Act year under different project titles. Two allocations were reportedly worth ₱21 million each, while three others were worth ₱22 million each.
Mamay Creek, Bunawan River projects examined
Portions of the NBI subpoena and project records identify Gemma Construction Supply, Inc. and Genesis88 Construction Inc. as contractors involved in improvement or rehabilitation works along Mamay Creek, while Genesis88 was also involved in a flood mitigation structure along Bunawan River.
A DPWH Notice of Award confirms that a Bunawan River flood mitigation project, identified as Contract ID 23LB0146, was awarded in 2023 to the Genesis88 Construction Inc./Agong Builders and Construction Supply Inc. joint venture at a contract price of approximately ₱96.5 million.
The NBI is now comparing the physical sites with the projects’ approved plans, contract descriptions, implementation records and completion documents.
₱7-billion figure under broader examination
The investigation has also expanded after the NBI, in coordination with the Commission on Audit (COA), said the value of DPWH-implemented flood control projects associated with a single contractor from 2018 to 2024 could reach approximately ₱7 billion—substantially higher than the earlier figure of around ₱1.9 billion initially cited by investigators.
The distinction is important: the ₱7-billion figure refers to the broader set of projects being examined, while the earlier NBI list of 47 projects was a specific group that investigators had flagged for scrutiny. MindaNews’ review of that 47-project list found that 26 were located within Davao City’s First District, while others were in the city’s Second and Third Districts and one was in Davao del Sur.
Genesis88 Construction, owned by businessman Glenn Escandor, appears prominently in the NBI inquiry. Public reports have also documented Escandor’s reported political ties, but those relationships do not by themselves establish wrongdoing in connection with any project.
DPWH records turned over to NBI
DPWH-Davao has submitted substantial documentation to the NBI. Investigators are examining records covering the life cycle of the projects, including bidding documents, engineering plans, contracts, progress reports, inspection records, completion and acceptance documents, photographs, financial and disbursement records, and the identities of officials and personnel who signed or certified project documents.
The NBI has also subpoenaed officials from the DPWH Davao City District Engineering Offices, including personnel connected with the district offices in Guerrero, Tugbok and Panacan, as the investigation widens.
The bureau is examining possible violations of laws involving the misuse of public funds, anti-graft offenses and other potential violations, but investigators have repeatedly stressed that no individual should be considered guilty merely because a project or person appears in the investigation.
Paolo Duterte welcomes investigation, calls for wider scrutiny
Davao City First District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte has welcomed the NBI investigation and called for transparency in the process.
Duterte said he wants the public and the media to see the evidence supporting claims involving alleged substandard or ghost projects, including documents, videos and the actual project sites.
He also questioned whether the same level of scrutiny would be applied to flood-control projects in other parts of the country, including projects associated with other political districts.
Duterte specifically called for investigations to be based on evidence and said that if there are ghost or substandard projects, these should be investigated regardless of location.
His response came amid continuing public discussion over whether the Davao investigation is being applied consistently across jurisdictions. The NBI, for its part, has said its flood-control investigation is not confined to Davao and that similar inquiries are being conducted in other provinces, including Bulacan, Mindoro, Cebu, Quezon, Tarlac and La Union.
Investigation remains ongoing
For now, the NBI’s field inspections represent a verification stage rather than a final determination of fraud.
The key question investigators must establish is whether the projects recorded in government documents were actually constructed at the locations stated, whether the structures comply with approved specifications, and whether payments and completion certifications correspond to actual work on the ground.
Matibag has stressed that the NBI is not yet declaring anyone guilty and that investigators must first establish what the evidence shows before deciding whether cases should be referred to the Department of Justice or the Office of the Ombudsman.
As investigators continue matching documents with physical structures, the inspections along Mamay Creek, Bunawan River and other sites in Davao City could become critical to determining whether the apparent discrepancies are simply documentation problems—or evidence of more serious irregularities in the use of public funds.