Bicol Saro Party-list Representative Terry Ridon has tagged Davao Occidental as the “epicenter” of alleged ghost projects in Mindanao.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, Ridon—who chairs the House Committee on Infrastructure (InfraComm)—compared Davao Occidental to Bulacan, which he described as the “epicenter” of similar irregularities in Luzon.

He emphasized the importance of the recent visit by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to Davao City to personally inspect the reported questionable projects and shed light on those accountable for the alleged anomalies.

“Mahalagang-mahalaga ‘yung unang pagpunta ng ICI team and Gen. Azurin noong nakaraan sa Davao City para makita po talaga isa-isa ‘yung lahat ng mga proyekto na dapat pong siyasatin at magkaroon ng aktwal na paglilinaw kung mayroon bang dapat mapanagot sa mga nakita po nating ‘incomplete, fully situated, unconstructed projects po na ito,’” Ridon said.

“To be very clear, this involves not just one district—it involves all districts within Davao City. It also involves Davao City, which I think we can call the epicenter of ghost projects in Mindanao Island,” the lawmaker said.

“I mean, kung nakita natin na ‘yung Bulacan seems to be the epicenter of ghost projects within Luzon, parang sa Davao Occidental po natin makikita ‘yon,” he added.

According to the InfraComm chair, most of the projects in question were funded as early as 2021 but remain unfinished or unstarted up to now.

Ridon said the committee will submit all gathered evidence to the ICI to support its ongoing investigation.

On September, the House InfraComm suspended its probe into the alleged ghost projects to give way to the ICI’s separate hearings.