Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson has linked Oriental Mindoro 1st District Rep. Arnan Panaligan to the billions allegedly allocated to “ghost” and substandard flood control projects in his jurisdiction on Wednesday.
In his privilege speech, Lacson said Panaligan himself shared on his official Facebook page that the said projects were his initiatives, dubbed AGILA or Aksyon ng Gobyerno at Inisyatibo sa Larangang Lehislatura.
In a report by RH 28 Raymund Dadpaas, Panaligan listed the town of Naujan—which was apportioned ₱3.6 billion—and the town of Baco—which received ₱807 million—among his midterm accomplishments from June 30, 2022, up to December 31, 2023.
“In one Facebook post, we discovered a Congressional representative, showcasing his midterm accomplishment report, covering the period from June 30, 2022, to December 31, 2023. He openly lists projects—hold your breath—funded by his office … including flood control and river protection initiatives,” Lacson said.
However, the senator—who deployed his staff to investigate—reported that the flood control projects in these areas were substandard. Many had collapsed shortly after being declared complete, with dikes found to be filled only with sand.
These are in the barangays Burbuli, Baco, Mulawin, Tagumpay, Inarawan, Pinagsabangan Dos, Melgar, and Arangin in Naujan.
Among the contractors are Silverwolves Construction Corp., Rayman Builders, ADSL Construction, and Sunwest Construction Inc.
This 2025, Naujan was allocated a bulk of the flood control project funds at ₱10 billion, but is still plagued by anomalies and defective projects.
Lacson sa mga obserbasyon sa Oriental Mindoro: I want to speak of the billions of appropriations for flood control project poured into this province.
— DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) August 20, 2025
In Oriental Mindoro, we wonder why among its 14 municipalities, one town tops the bill. Sa pagsalo ng buhos ng pondo, nauna ang… pic.twitter.com/3pjpkulxdX
For instance, in Barangay Apitong, Lacson’s team could not locate the purportedly completed project titled “Construction of Road Dike Along Mag-asawang Tubig River, Sitio Dike, Brgy. Apitong Section, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro,” which had been awarded to Elite General Contractor and Development Corp. for ₱192.99 million.
