{"id":17635,"date":"2025-11-26T23:39:25","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T15:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/?p=17635"},"modified":"2025-11-26T23:42:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T15:42:58","slug":"cayetano-warns-dpwh-lack-of-database-on-ghost-projects-fuels-public-distrust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/2025\/11\/26\/cayetano-warns-dpwh-lack-of-database-on-ghost-projects-fuels-public-distrust\/","title":{"rendered":"CAYETANO WARNS DPWH: LACK OF DATABASE ON GHOST PROJECTS FUELS PUBLIC DISTRUST"},"content":{"rendered":"

SENATE Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday warned that the government\u2019s continued failure to release a verified database of alleged ghost flood-control projects is weakening ongoing investigations and fueling public confusion.<\/h4>\n

During his interpellation on the Department of Public Works and Highways\u2019 (DPWH) proposed 2026 budget early morning of November 26, Cayetano again pressed the agency to produce a single, official list of the projects under question.<\/h4>\n

\u201cMy proposal is that we define the terms and you have a counter, whether on your website or kay Presidente. For example, \u2018We’re looking at 8,000 projects. We’ve looked at 407 that are ghost.\u2019 Para whether media or naninira sa gobyerno or nanglilito, walang pagtatalunan,\u201d he said.<\/h4>\n

The Minority Leader\u2019s call echoed the same warning he has been raising in recent months in interviews and public statements.<\/h4>\n

\u201cMas klaro y\u2019ung facts, better y\u2019ung debate,\u201d he stressed. \u201cLet’s be precise, not only for the cases kasi mato-throw out \u2018yung case. We owe it to the people to be truthful,\u201d he said.<\/h4>\n

Cayetano said the longer the government leaves the numbers unclear, the more room there is for misinformation and politically driven claims.<\/h4>\n

He added that allowing unverified estimates to keep floating around such as the widely mentioned figure of around 400 alleged ghost projects would erode public trust if the actual number turns out to be much smaller.<\/h4>\n

\u201cMark my words. If we keep using 400 then we find out it\u2019s 100, the public will suspect pinagtakpan natin \u2018yung 300,\u201d he said. \u201c<\/h4>\n

\u201cThe longer period na wala kayong database, mas magsususpetsa ang mga tao. Non-oath statements can be useful leads,\u201d he added.<\/h4>\n

Cayetano also argued that statements made outside formal hearings, including interviews, vlogs, and news reports, may still be leads if they come from major players in the controversy.<\/h4>\n

\u201cEveryone is saying \u2018pag hindi ka under oath, walang value \u2018yun\u2026 But lahat ng magsalita, may value. Bakit? It’s a lead,\u201d he said.<\/h4>\n

He added that while such statements may have no probative value in court, \u201cmajor players\u201d speaking publicly should not be ignored.<\/h4>\n

\u201cI’m not saying it’s true. And most people who will talk will have half-truths\u2026 Pero \u2018yung iba sa internet, sa vlog, sa news, hindi totoong walang value \u2013 lead y\u2019un eh. Major player \u2018yun eh,\u201d he said.<\/h4>\n

Cayetano wrapped up his interpellation by reminding DPWH not to \u201cparalyze\u201d necessary public infrastructure as it works to resolve the massive flood-control scandal.<\/h4>\n

\u201cTwo years from now, pag-uusapan nating dalawa: Sinong nakulong at tama ba \u2018yung nakulong? But two, may nagawa ba ang DPWH? Kasi kung may nakulong pero \u2018yung mga project na dapat nating ginawa ay hindi natin ginawa, talo pa rin ang taumbayan,\u201d he told DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon.<\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SENATE Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday warned that the government’s continued failure to release a verified database of alleged ghost flood-control projects is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17635"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17635"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17640,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17635\/revisions\/17640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}