FORMER Candaba mayor Jerry Pelayo, now serving as provincial administrator of Laguna, has denounced what he called “ghost projects” and anomalous flood control works in his hometown amounting to at least ₱1.4 billion.
Pelayo identified multiple slope protection and dike projects funded over the last seven years that, he said, showed strikingly similar costs despite being implemented in different barangays.
Among the five biggest contracts from 2018 to 2025 are:
1. Construction of slope protection, Malisik–Barangka – ₱144,750,000
2. Construction of slope protection, Malisik–Mapaniki – ₱144,750,000
3. Construction of slope protection, Malisik–Salapungan – ₱144,750,000
4. Construction of slope protection, Malisik (various sites) – ₱168,393,000
5. Construction of dike, Visal San Pablo – ₱68,321,000 (with a second contract at ₱68,394,000)
“These are twins, triplets, quadruplets. The same amounts, the same works, only different names,” Pelayo said in his public statement.
He warned that those behind the questionable projects “will face jail time,” and urged the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and oversight agencies to probe the matter.
Pelayo, who served as Candaba mayor for three terms, criticized the absence of livelihood programs in his town, saying infrastructure spending has not translated into jobs or economic opportunities for residents.
He also challenged incumbent officials, including Mayor Rene Maglanque, to explain the contracts. “If you are clean, prove it,” he added.
Pelayo recalled that during his term, a channeling project in Malisik was completed using only bulldozers at a fraction of the cost. “You only build slope protection when homes are endangered. Why spend billions when no houses are at risk?” he asked.
He stressed that the people of Candaba deserve “protection and accountability, not waste and abuse of their resources.”