Ghosts

It is a superstition that August is Ghost Month. Tradition says that opportunities become scarce because the gates of the underworld open, allowing spirits, including ancestors and wandering ghosts, to roam the physical realm. While many may dismiss this belief as folklore, there is another kind of ghost haunting our local governance. These aren’t apparitions from another world, but ghost projects, particularly in flood control, that remain unaccounted for despite years of funding and fanfare.

Ever since the president mentioned in his State of the Nation Address that there are contractors whose flood control projects are unfinished, the media has been relentless in uncovering who these contractors are and what became of their projects. It is no small matter: these are multi-million peso undertakings that directly affect the safety of our communities. The universe seems to be conspiring with us because just as scrutiny builds, the country is being battered by intense rains. It has since then exposed damaged, incomplete and poorly-built structures. The ghosts reveal themselves not in shadows but in every flooded street, every submerged community and every riprap that collapsed under pressure.

These projects haunt us because they deny legitimate opportunities to others who may be more qualified and capable. For years, whispers have persisted that certain contractors enjoy special treatment, favored repeatedly in the bidding process despite questionable track records. This cycle resembles an inherited curse, bad practices passed from one administration to the next, normalized by time and silence. To the public, these projects are invisible until they inconvenience us or endanger our lives. The more infrastructure is built, the more money comes out of the nation’s treasury.

What is truly chilling is the seeming lack of accountability. Amid mounting calls, the sitting secretary of public works and highways remains in his post. He insists that the president himself directed him to continue the probe into these irregularities, even though many of the projects under suspicion were approved under his leadership. I bet it is daunting to do an investigation led by the very office under whose watch the problems flourished. Transparency is promised, but trust is thin.

If these ghosts are finally laid bare, the revelations may wound us deeply. We might discover that taxes from our hard-earned money we earned through daily toil, are being siphoned off to fund luxury cars, vacations abroad, and lifestyles we can only dream of. It is a betrayal that cuts to the bone. While the ordinary Filipino breaks their back to make ends meet, others glide through life on ill-gotten wealth.

In the end, Ghost Month is only a superstition but the ghost projects of our time are terrifyingly real. They are built not on myths but on misplaced trust, corrupted systems, and the silence that allowed them to thrive. If the government truly wants to exorcise these ghosts, it must act decisively. It is more than just a Senate inquiry. Unlike superstition, this haunting is man-made, and it costs lives, livelihoods, and the nation’s future.