Villanueva denies ties to engineer behind Bulacan ghost project

Metro Manila, Philippines - Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said he is not connected to a district engineer from his hometown who approved a flood control project later found to be non-existent.

In a chance interview with Senate reporters on Wednesday, September 3, Villanueva, whose family comes from Bulacan, dismissed circulating photos of him with former Bulacan first district engineer Henry Alcantara.

There’s nothing suspicious about having a photo taken with an official during public events, Villanueva said.

“Pero bakit ako lang yung sinisingle out? Bakit? Kasi yun ang gusto nilang paniwalaan, yun ang gusto nilang gawin na gulo. Nang sa ganoon, mas mapunta yung atensyon sa mga tao na hindi sangkot,” Villanueva said.

[Translation: But why am I being singled out? Why? Because that’s what they want people to believe, that’s the chaos they want to create - so that the attention shifts to people who aren’t actually involved.]

Villanueva also said he is considering filing legal action against those spreading what he called “lies.”

Alcantara appeared in separate Senate and House hearings this week, where he admitted approving a ₱55-million river wall project in Bulacan without conducting an inspection.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier expressed outrage over the so-called “ghost project,” which was reportedly fully paid for by the government despite not existing.