PBBM orders raps filed over ‘ghost’ FCP O By Samuel P. Medenilla
UTRAGED by the apparent gall of the contractor of the P55.73-million “ghost” flood control projects (FCP) in Baliwag City in Bulacan, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the filing of graft cases against the said firm--making it the first to be charged in the administration’s ongoing crackdown on anomalous public works. He said they are now also considering pursuing economic sabotage charges against erring contractors with defective, incomplete, or non-existent FCPs, which have the highest costs, since he said it will force the government to borrow more money to address it. On Wednesday, the chief executive visited the site where a 220-meter reinforced concrete river wall was supposed to be built in Baliwag, Bulacan after receiving a complaint
ITALIAN FLAIR IN QC Petromax Enterprise President Allen Ong and his wife Kristell Ong
grace the launch of the Alfa Romeo Junior at Petromax Libis, Quezon City, on Tuesday, August 19, 2025. The event showcased the Italian automaker’s newest compact SUV, highlighting luxury design and performance for the Philippine market. NONOY LACZA
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against the said project in their sumbongsapangulo.ph website. The website was launched last week to allow the public to submit their FCP-related complaints. Marcos said he was shocked to learn that the contractor of the project, Syms Construction, not only failed to build the said structure, but still reported it as a completed project based on the records from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Syms Construction has received full payment for the said project.
Government sanctions
THE President said he suspects the project may have been subcontracted by Syms to other firms, which were unable to build the river wall. “We didn’t see a single—a single hollow block, a single cement block, no equipment
here. All these projects are ghost projects. No work has been done here,” Marcos told reporters in Filipino after he inspected the site. The unbuilt FCP, he said, caused considerable harm to the community in Baliwag, which suffered from floods. “We will not let this pass. All officials who authorized and conspired in this violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents will be charged and suspended,” Marcos said in a post in his social media page. He also ordered Syms Construction Trading to be blacklisted so it can no longer participate in other government projects. Marcos said they will consider filing economic sabotage cases against erring contractors with the biggest FCP costs, which he said will put an additional burden on the government’s finances. “The debt of the Philippine government,
of the Republic, would [have been] reduced if all this was done properly. Because now we will go back to [these projects], where did the money go, we will go after them, we will sue them. How long will that take,” Marcos said. Under Philippines laws, acts, which are considered economic sabotage, include the smuggling, hoarding, and profiteering of agricultural products as well as large scale illegal recruitment.
Masterplan
THE government launched its campaign against anomalous FCPs after it was announced by Marcos in his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) last month, which covers P545.64 billion worth of 9,855 FCPs from July 2022 to May 2025 During his inspection in Jaro, Iloilo and in Calumpit, Bulacan last week, the President See “PBBM,” A2
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business
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GLOBAL WOES SEEN TO PROLONG BOP DEFICIT www.businessmirror.com.ph
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Thursday, August 21, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 312
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 26 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
OFTER Philippine export earnings and the spillover effects of global headwinds may keep the country’s Balance of Payments (BOP) in deficit in the coming months, according to local economists. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) disclosed that the cumulative BOP level declined to a $5.8- billion deficit in January to July 2025, a reversal from the
$1.5-billion surplus in January to July 2024. In July, the BOP registered a deficit of $167 million in July See “Global,” A2
CHINESE MARINE SCIENTISTS EYE COLLABORATION WITH FILIPINOS TO PROTECT SOUTH CHINA SEA ECOSYSTEM
CHINESE marine scientists use artificial reef made of steel to restore damaged reef near the coastline of Sanya in Hainan province. MALOU TALOSIG-BARTOLOME/SANYA CORAL REEF ECOLOGY INSTITUTE
BAYANIHAN FOR CLEANER WATERWAYS San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora and MMDA Chairman Don Artes lead the Bayanihan sa Estero program on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, at Lambingan Bridge along Aurora Boulevard, San Juan City. The cleanup drive seeks to restore the natural flow of waterways, mitigate flooding, and foster environmental responsibility—part of wider efforts to boost urban resilience and sustainability across Metro Manila. NONOY LACZA
PHL ‘on track’ to hit Q3 growth goal: DBM A pool platform at a facility in Hainan Institute of Zhejiang University created 10-meter splash using a centrifugal force to simulate an extreme weather event. Chinese oceanographers are studying the wave behavior so engineers can build offshore oil drilling platforms and other marine technology equipment that are resilient to typhoons and other deep sea extreme weather disturbances MALOU TALOSIG-BARTOLOME
By Malou Talosig-Bartolome
H
AINAN, China—Chinese marine scientists and engineers are seeking collaboration with Filipino experts to jointly study and protect the fragile ecosystem of the South China Sea. “We are very hopeful to establish a partnership with the Philippines, which is surrounded by coral reefs. We all belong to the
same South China Sea ecosystem,” said coral reef expert Wu Chuanliang in an interview with BusinessMirror. During a media tour organized by the Hainan provincial government for Asean journalists, the Sanya Coral Reef Ecology Institute showcased its innovative techniques for both passive and active coral reef restoration in the South China Sea. See “Chinese,” A2
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
T
@reine_alberto
HE Philippine economy is poised for stronger growth in the third quarter of 2025, as the country remains “on track” to hit its growth target, according to Development Budget and Coordination Committee (DBCC) co-chair and Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 2024 Agency Performance Review (APR) Report, Pangandaman said she expects the economy to expand by 6 percent in the third quarter, faster than the previous quarter. “Maybe 6 percent, hopefully,”
Pangandaman said when asked for her growth projection. In the second quarter of 2025, the economy grew by 5.5 percent, tempered by the slowdown in government final consumption expenditure, or the government’s total spending for the period. The government’s infrastructure spending in the months of April and May was also muted by the election-related spending ban, according to the DBM. “We have begun releasing the NCAs (notice of cash allocations), and the agencies have resumed procurement,” the Budget chief. Pangandaman also said earlier that the Department of Budget
and Management (DBM) will ask agencies to submit their catch-up plans to improve their budget utilization and support growth in the second semester (See: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2025/08/15/dbm-efficient-budget-use-to-prop-upeconomy-in-h2/).
Growth target revision
WITH bolstered spending helping the economy, Pangandaman said there is no need to adjust the growth targets set by the DBCC for now. “We’re still okay. We’ll stick with the numbers that were presented in the previous DBCC,” Pangandaman said. “I think we’re on the right track, we’re
okay.” The DBCC trimmed its growth target to 5.5 to 6.5 percent for 2025, lower than its earlier projection of 6 to 8 percent. The reduction took into account heightened global uncertainties, such as the unforeseen escalation of tensions in the Middle East and the United States’ imposition of tariffs. For 2026 to 2028, the DBCC also reduced the growth target to 6 to 7 percent from the initial 6 to 8 percent assumption. Despite these headwinds, Pangandaman said the DBCC remains “vigilant and ready” to deploy timely and targeted measures to mitigate their potential impact on the Philippine economy.
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.1010 n JAPAN 0.3869 n UK 77.0521 n HK 7.3221 n CHINA 7.9495 n SINGAPORE 44.4608 n AUSTRALIA 36.8473 n EU 66.5170 n KOREA 0.0410 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.2168 Source: BSP (August 20, 2025)