By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet

On the heels of earlier pronouncements echoing his dismay about reports of anomalous flood control-related projects during his 4th State of the Nation Address in July, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. doubled down on his promise to seek accountability and held those responsible liable for this oversight in infrastructure development.

In his inspection of the P264 million rock shed project along Kennon Road in Tuba, Benguet this Sunday, the President confirmed reports that the slope protection structure disintegrated and was rendered useless by the soil collapse and rock fall amid the onslaught of Typhoon “Emong” and monsoon rains.

The ensuing rockfall led to a temporary closure of Kennon Road in the wake of severe weather disturbances, crippling a major thoroughfare linking Benguet with other provinces.

President Marcos said in an angry outburst, “I think you can see for yourself na talagang hindi trinabaho nang mabuti ito dahil ‘yong ginawang slope protection supposedly dito ay bumigay na.”

He told reporters at the sidelines of an ocular inspection of the rock shed, “The 260 million that the government spent for this project had no effect whatsoever as to protect the slope. Parang walang ginawa… Kaya ang balor ng kanilang trabaho is zero, complete zero.”

The 152-meter, two-lane rock shed project along Kennon Road, meant to protect motorists from rock falls and landslides, has a contract cost of P264.19 million that was awarded to the contractor, 3K Rock Engineering. Construction began on January 10, 2023, with the project being listed as officially complete on April 13, 2025.

Repairing the damaged P264 million rock shed project has already dealt a 35% loss to the local economy, while repairs may cost the government at least P500 million.

The Kennon Road rock shed project was the latest flood control project that the President personally visited since the August 11 launch of the Sumbong sa Pangulo website, which empowers the citizenry to report the status of flood control projects in their respective locales.

Accountability at all costs

In a separate inspection of the rock netting project in Barangay Camp 4, President Marcos remained firm in his stance against corrupt practices that plague anomalous flood control projects, citing economic losses and its impact on intended beneficiaries.

The Chief Executive said, “It is not only the physical damage that we can see, but it is also the damage to the economy. It is also [damaging] to the people’s livelihood.”

He added, “Naghahanapbuhay lang naman itong mga taong ito, tinanggal sa kanila 35 percent ng kanilang hanapbuhay para ibulsa ang pera ng gobyerno.”

Citing information from the supplier, President Marcos said the mesh used for rock netting only costs P3,200 each, but the mesh used for the project he inspected cost the government P12,000 each. Some parts of the mesh were also observed to be either damaged or not in good condition.

The rock netting project covered 3,479 square meters of slope with 3-millimeter high tensile wire mesh with a green mat for erosion control. Its construction began from April 24, 2018 to June 15, 2019, with a contract price of P114.17 million and was facilitated by the same contractor behind the failed rock shed project along Kennon Road.

President Marcos, meanwhile, ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to reinstitute the standard operating procedure (SOP) of getting the acceptance of local government units (LGUs) before declaring a public works project as complete, in order to prevent corruption and ensure quality projects.

The President concluded, “If there’s one thing, I will not leave this office until I fix this.”

During both inspections, he was accompanied by Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong and Tuba Mayor Clarita Sal-ongan, as well as select DPWH officials.

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