Senators slam ineffective flood control spending

MANILA, Philippines — Senators have decried the billions poured annually into flood control projects that remain ineffective and are easily washed away by floods and landslides during typhoon season.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri criticized the practice of “chopping up” the flood control budget, which he said opens the door to corruption.

He lamented the lack of a “one-time, big-time” flood management program despite several studies recommending solutions for the country’s perennial flooding.

“The problem is politicians chop up the funds. Instead of allocating it to a major flagship project of the President, the money gets scattered everywhere. Each district, each politician has their own scheme,” Zubiri said in Filipino over radio dwIZ.

“Instead of making that project worth P10 billion, politicians take the funds and use them for dredging or flood control projects that you can’t even see. In other words, there’s no one-time, big-time program,” he added.

Sen. JV Ejercito echoed the concern, noting that dividing the budget among district representatives results in piecemeal efforts instead of an integrated master plan.

There should be a comprehensive program that involves “high impact” projects like spillways, flood ways and water impounding and pumping stations, he said.

“We cannot fight the forces of nature, but we can find ways to address it. These are projects that will speed up flood removal. What’s happening is the flood control budget gets divided, making efforts fragmented. Even if we fund it yearly, it will never be effective,” he added.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson also called for a “long-term and integrated master plan for flood management,” pointing to severe flooding and landslides triggered by recent storms and enhanced monsoon rains.

Lacson questioned why flooding persists despite the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) receiving P1.90 trillion for flood control from 2011 to 2025, or roughly P348 million a day.

“What happened to the huge amounts we spent in the last 15 years? Was there any progress? If the flood control policies and programs were not effective, we should see where we went wrong and make the needed corrections,” Lacson said yesterday.

“For accountability, we need to see how the funds were spent and find out who was responsible for it,” he added.

The senator also revealed that several DPWH flood control projects were flagged as still awaiting the issuance of Special Allotment Release Orders, indicating large unused allocations.

He urged long-term planning beyond the usual five- or six-year medium-term programs, citing other countries’ 20-year plans.

“Can’t we have a long-term master plan so the program will go on regardless of changes in administration? The United States has that, so people know what to expect for the next 20 years. We don’t have that,” Lacson said.

He stressed the need for integrated and holistic flood control programs at the regional level, with proper coordination among local government units to prevent flooding from spilling over to neighboring towns.

“We cannot insulate a town or city in formulating a flood management program because floods may spill over to its neighboring areas. The planning should be integrated at least at the regional level,” Lacson said.

Lacson also called for filing charges against corrupt politicians and contractors behind faulty projects and urged civil society groups to participate in budget deliberations, especially during the bicameral conference committee, where political realignments occur “behind closed doors.”

He vowed to scrutinize the 2025 budget further, citing anomalies such as a small Oriental Mindoro barangay receiving P1.9 billion and another town getting P10 billion in flood control allocations.

“We need to be vigilant again, to put corrupt legislators on notice,” Lacson said.

In a separate dWIZ interview yesterday, Lacson addressed reports that Senate President Francis Escudero inserted P142.7 billion in flood control and infrastructure projects into the P6.326-trillion national budget to favor allies.

Escudero, however, has denied having any “pork barrel” allocations, dismissing the reports as political noise linked to the Senate leadership race.

Lacson clarified the reports did not originate from him or former Senate president Vicente Sotto III, Escudero’s rival for the top post.

“If SP Escudero is saying that this political noise came from fellow senators because of the Senate president selection, it didn’t come from us – particularly from me. I can clearly speak for myself. It did not come from me,” Lacson said in Filipino.

Lacson pointed out discrepancies in the reported P142.7-billion budget insertion, saying his review of the budget did not align with the figures.

“One item there does not match our findings. Even the numbers were wrong. One province listed didn’t match. So I can categorically say I had nothing to do with those documents,” Lacson said.

“As far as I’m concerned, that has nothing to do with the selection of the Senate president. I would know if it came from former Senate president Sotto because we talk regularly. He hasn’t said anything to me. He was just given a copy, same as I was,” he added.