NO ‘GHOST, SUBSTANDARD’ PROJECTS: Capitol hits Bayan-Panay over ELCAC audit claims

ILOILO CITY — The Iloilo provincial government on Friday disputed Bayan-Panay’s corruption allegations against anti-insurgency infrastructure projects, saying the Commission on Audit (COA) findings did not establish that the projects were nonexistent or that public funds were stolen.

The provincial government also said the left-leaning group is misleading the public.

Provincial Administrator Raul Banias described the group’s claims as “black propaganda” during a press conference.

He said the audit observations on the Barangay Development Program (BDP) of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) did not establish that the projects were nonexistent or that public funds had been stolen.

Created in December 2018 through Executive Order No. 70, the NTF-ELCAC coordinates the government’s anti-insurgency efforts, including the BDP, which funnels development projects to barangays declared free of communist insurgent influence.

Bayan-Panay is the Panay chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), a coalition of left-leaning organizations.

“The ghost and incomplete projects in Iloilo, as well as the substandard completed ones, echo what has been pointed out by the Filipino people for years: NTF-ELCAC is among the most wasteful and corrupt government entities today,” the group said in its Oct. 15 statement.

Bayan-Panay cited the Daily Guardian’s (DG) October 15 report on COA’s audit findings. The report did not mention the projects as “ghost” or “substandard.”

The Daily Guardian report indicated that COA flagged 29 ELCAC projects of the Iloilo provincial government for remaining unfinished or non-operational, with an estimated PHP 73.892 million needed to complete them.

It also reported that auditors found 16 unfinished ELCAC projects had no funding allocation to cover their estimated PHP 60.931 million completion cost as of the end of 2025.

Banias disputed the group’s characterization, saying the PHP 73.892 million cited in the 2025 COA report represented the estimated cost to complete 29 ongoing or delayed projects, including 16 projects facing funding gaps.

“These claims [of Bayan-Panay] are categorically false, legally irresponsible, and completely misrepresent the COA report,” Banias said.

He said the amount was not money that COA reported as “stolen, pocketed, or diverted.”

“An unfinished project is not a ghost project. A ‘ghost project’ means a non-existent project where money was pocketed for zero work. The projects cited exist on the ground,” Banias said.

According to Banias, the Provincial Engineer’s Office disclosed as early as September 2023 that project implementation had been affected by the geographically isolated and mountainous locations, severe weather disturbances, difficult terrain, and delays in the delivery of construction materials.

He also cited the provincial government’s return of approximately PHP 196 million in unused national government allocations to the National Treasury.

Banias argued that the return demonstrated compliance with public finance rules rather than the alleged misuse of funds.

He said the NTF-ELCAC does not directly disburse funds to contractors for civil works.

Under the Local Government Support Fund-Support to Barangay Development Program (LGSF-SBDP), the Department of Budget and Management releases allocations directly to implementing local government units, which handle procurement, construction, and engineering work.

Banias said the provincial government remains committed to completing the remaining projects by 2028 using local funds.

He said COA’s audit observations should not be treated as findings of corruption or malversation.

“We take legitimate audit observations with utmost seriousness and will comply with all audit recommendations to deliver completed roads, potable water, and agricultural facilities to the people of Iloilo,” Banias said.

“But we will not allow the legitimate work of government auditors to be hijacked by ideological groups to sabotage programs that bring basic services to communities previously neglected by conflict,” he added.

Despite criticizing Bayan-Panay’s statements, Banias said the provincial government would not file cases against the group, recognizing its freedom of expression.