The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) finds itself once again under scrutiny, this time in Eastern Visayas, amid rumors of a memo allegedly instructing regional staff to avoid talking to the media, possibly in connection with ongoing controversies over incomplete and dubious public works.
While the existence of such a memo remains unverified, the speculation has been fueled by reports that staff from the DPWH Regional Office 8 in Tacloban acknowledged its existence but declined to show it when questioned by media personality Roy Moraleta in a Facebook video.
No official copy, however, has been released to the public or confirmed by DPWH’s central office.
The timing of the alleged directive has raised eyebrows. Across Eastern Visayas, infrastructure performance has come under question following several cases of terminated, delayed, or non-completed projects.
In 2025, DPWH Region 8 reported that more than ₱563 million worth of infrastructure works had been halted due to contractor failure.
These included the storm-surge protection project and the San Joaquin Bridge widening in Palo, Leyte, the cross-country road in Caibiran, Biliran, and the San Antonio circumferential road in Northern Samar.
In some provinces, residents have taken to social media to question whether certain flood-control works exist in full. Several posts and local commentaries have circulated showing “completed” riverbank projects that appear only partially built or left unfinished.
These claims remain unverified, yet they underscore a growing skepticism toward DPWH project reporting in the region.
The DPWH’s own numbers add to public concern. According to its 2025 update, ₱53.36 billion has been allotted for about 700 flood-control projects in Eastern Visayas.
Of these, 435 are completed, 216 are ongoing, and 49 have not yet started as of mid-2025.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Information Agency reports 140 flood-control projects worth ₱19.7 billion still under construction across the region.
Regional Director Edgar Tabacon earlier stated that the agency has “no ghost projects” in Region 8, acknowledging, however, that there may be “substandard or delayed” ones.
His assurance has done little to quiet speculation, particularly in light of nationwide scandals involving missing flood-control projects in other provinces.
Eastern Visayas is an important area in the ongoing investigation on substandard and ghost projects involving flood control, since the national budget measure is processed and passed by the House of Representatives, whose two top leaders are from Region 8 — former Speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte and Minority Floor Leader Marcelino Libanan of Samar.
If an internal memo indeed exists discouraging media engagement, it would contradict DPWH’s public stance on transparency.
At a time when Eastern Visayas communities remain vulnerable to flooding, silence is not a policy but a problem.
The public deserves clear explanations on which projects have been completed, which remain pending, and which have failed, not rumors and evasions.
Transparency is non-negotiable for an agency that handles billions in taxpayer money and infrastructure vital to disaster resilience.
If the memo is real, it should be released; if it is not, the DPWH must publicly disavow it to restore trust. Either way, Eastern Visayas deserves answers, not whispers.
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