Senator Erwin Tulfo questioned the legal basis for funding flood control projects in areas outside the country’s top 10 flood-prone locations during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee probe into alleged irregularities in projects managed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
In response, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman admitted that her agency lacks both the staff and the mandate to countercheck the data submitted by the DPWH.
“Wala po kaming tao na kayang magcheck isa-isa ng mga project na pinopropose ng DPWH, wala rin po kaming mandate,” DBM Sec. Pangandaman said in her statement regarding the flood control project funds.
For his part, DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan explained that proposals for flood control projects fall under the National Expenditure Program, which allows at least 70% of each district’s budget allocation to be determined by local government priorities.
“Yung paglagay po ng flood control projects ay under the national expenditure program meron po kasing allocation for each engineering district. If you say there is a P1 billion allocation for an engineering district, ang policy po namin dito ay 70% of that should go to the core program of the project which is national road program management and flood control projects,” DPWH Sec. Bonoan explains during the session.
“70% of the [theoretical] P1 billion can be allocated to local infrastructure. It’s all up to the priorities in that district where to put the allocations whether in roads or flood control,” Sec. Bonoan added.
According to data released by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., several provinces have received an abundance of flood control projects despite not being on the top 10 list of flood-prone areas. These include Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Oriental Mindoro, and Ilocos Norte.
However, provinces with a questionable number of flood control projects include:
- Cebu – 414
- Isabela – 341
- Albay – 273
- Leyte – 262
- Camarines Sur – 252
Tulfo also asked the Commission on Audit (COA) if it had identified contractors with repeat adverse audit findings who continue to receive new projects.
COA Director Tracy Ann Sunico responded that the agency is maintaining an ongoing database of DPWH contractors covering 2022–2024, but emphasized that the list of blacklisted contractors will come from the DPWH.
Meanwhile, eight out of the 15 contractors that cornered ₱100 billion worth of flood projects skipped the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Tuesday. Those absent included Alpha & Omega General Contractor & Development Corp., St. Timothy Construction Corp., Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc., Sunwest Inc., Hi-Tone Construction & Development Corp., Royal Crown Monarch Construction & Supplies Corp., Wawao Builders, and L.R. Tiqui Builders Inc.
