By Wilnard Bacelonia | Philippine News Agency
Senator Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday bared a recurring pattern of “systemic” corruption in the country’s flood control projects.
In a privilege speech, Lacson said more than P1.9 trillion has been allocated for flood control since 2011, including over P1 trillion in the past three years. Yet, many communities remain flooded because projects were either defective, overpriced, or never built.
Lacson said the anomalies in flood control projects follow a pattern: funds are inserted into the national budget, then channeled to projects that are either overpriced, repeatedly repaired to justify ballooning costs, poorly built and quickly damaged, or never constructed at all.
“Halos pare-pareho ang pattern kung paano minamasaker ng mga kawatan ang pondo ng bayan,” Lacson said.
Among the cases flagged were the Candaba flood control in Pampanga; the Bauang River Basin in La Union; and Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
In Pampanga, a flood control project that initially cost P20 million ballooned to P274 million after repeated repairs were awarded to the same contractor.
In La Union, the allocation for the Bauang River Basin surged from P100 million in the 2024 National Expenditure Program to nearly P1.6 billion in the final budget due to congressional insertions.
In Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, almost P19 billion in flood control funds was allocated in over three years, with some dikes collapsing shortly after completion and a P193-million project later found to be non-existent.
In Bulacan, Lacson said at least 30 “ghost projects” where funds were released but no construction was undertaken.
He noted that this cycle is enabled by collusion among contractors, local officials, and syndicates within the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Lacson added that engineers and contractors are ready to testify on syndicates inside the DPWH if given protection.
