By Brian Campued
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday said that he would demand an explanation from St. Timothy Construction Corporation—one of the top contractors that secured most of the flood-control projects in the country—regarding a substandard and incomplete flood control project in Calumpit, Bulacan.
In a media interview during an inspection of a river protection structure in Barangay Bulusan near the Angat River, Marcos found out that about 200 meters of the revetment wall remained unfinished and that the contractor did not conduct any dredging or desiltation in the river.
Based on the sumbongsapangulo.ph website, the rehabilitation project was funded with over P96.4 million in 2022 and was marked as complete in February 2023.
Two years later, Bulacan still suffers from widespread flooding, high tide, and overflowing of nearby dams. The town of Calumpit, in particular, was placed under a state of calamity in July due to severe flooding caused by heavy rains exacerbated by recent tropical cyclones.
“Meron kaming mga picture, pati meron kaming mga diver na sinisid ‘yong sa ilalim, at nakita talaga, very manipis lahat ‘yong semento, hindi pantay-pantay. Basta hindi maganda ang trabaho. Talagang bibigay kaya bumigay na nga. Kaya’t kailangan nilang sagutin kung bakit ganito,” the President said.
“What possible excuse do they have for not doing this? Hindi ko maisip… Tapos ito pa, lahat ng flood control, may kasamang dredging at desiltation. Pero ni minsan, hindi pa nakakita ng desiltation dito. Kasama sa kontrata ‘yon,” he added.
The Chief Executive also visited Barangay Frances, still in Calumpit, to inspect another flood mitigation structure aimed at protecting the nearby communities from overflow of the Pampanga River.
The project was handled by Wawao Builders, which is also among the top contractors that secured the most flood control projects in the country.
During the inspection, Marcos discovered that the structure, valued at P78.1 million and completed in July 2023, has already shown signs of concrete deterioration.
“Hahanapin natin kung sinong responsible dito sa gobyerno, sa private—at kailangang managot sila dito sa kanilang ginawa… dito sa mga tao dito, sa kahirapan na dinala nila dito sa mga buhay nila,” Marcos said in a media interview.
Bulacan has the highest number of flood-control projects in the country, with 668 projects amounting to approximately P6.5 billion—38 of these projects worth P2.9 billion are in Calumpit and were reportedly completed from 2022 to 2024, according to Malacañang.
On Aug. 11, the President launched the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” website where the public can access details on the flood control projects in their localities based on the list provided by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
He also urged the people to report any anomalous projects in their areas. (with report from Harley Valbuena / PTV News)
