MANILA, Philippines — For the past three years, dozens of flood control projects in Oriental Mindoro have received billions worth of funding through congressional insertions, The STAR has learned.
Analysis of budget documents contradicted claims of Oriental Mindoro Rep. Arnan Panaligan that most of the flood control projects in his district were already identified in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) or the proposed budget crafted by the executive and submitted to Congress for approval.
“To the best of my knowledge, the biggest amount of flood-control projects is already in the NEP. Since I became a congressman (in 2022), it was already identified (in the NEP). We cannot change that, we cannot realign,” he said in Filipino over “Storycon” on One News on Wednesday.
But a comparison of flood control projects in the NEP and the General Appropriations Act (GAA) or the approved budget tells a different story.
For instance, in 2023, the executive only proposed eight flood control projects in Oriental Mindoro amounting to P605.5 million.
But the approved budget that went through congressional deliberations listed 19 projects amounting to P1.419 billion, more than double the original proposal.
Among the “inserted” projects were two road dikes or esplanades along Dulangan River in the municipality of Naujan, located in Panaligan’s district. Each project costs P300 million.
Four projects originally lodged under the Department of Public Works and Highways regional office were transferred, with smaller allocation, to the Mindoro Oriental District Engineering Office.
When asked about “insertions” of flood control projects in his district, Panaligan denied any knowledge, saying he was not part of the congressional committees where adjustments in the budget were supposedly deliberated.
“Maybe something happened in the bicam or small committee, which I am not a member of. I just see (the projects) in the GAA that is not in the original NEP… That has no coordination with me,” he added.
Panaligan was specifically identified by Sen. Panfilo Lacson in his privilege speech about alleged anomalies in flood control projects.
The senator showed an accomplishment report listing the flood control projects supposedly posted on Panaligan’s Facebook page. It was no longer available when The STAR tried to retrieve the post.
Panaligan, who previously served as Calapan mayor and Oriental Mindoro governor, denied any link to the projects, saying these were implemented by the DPWH.
“The congressman has no say in coming up with the program of works, in designing and awarding (of the projects),” he said in Filipino. “It was the DPWH that identified all of that. It was the DPWH that planned… bid out and awarded the contractors for the project.”
Budget swells
Succeeding years saw the budget for flood control projects in the province ballooning by billions.
In 2024, the national government proposed 24 projects in the province worth P1.721 billion. But the approved budget again more than doubled to P4.186 billion.
Based on analysis of the list of projects, 23 projects were added during congressional deliberations, while seven were removed, resulting in 40 listed projects for Oriental Mindoro.
Among the biggest insertions were the P300 million for the construction of a road dike or esplanade along Pangalaan River, still in Naujan. Two similar projects worth P250 million each were also inserted.
But that year, the bulk of insertions was in the second district represented by Rep. Alfonso Umali. Among these were the construction of four flood control structures in the municipality of Gloria, each worth P250 million.
For this year, a staggering P14.105 billion was proposed by the executive for the province. Unlike in previous years, the amount was just P13.026 billion in the approved budget. But there were significant realignments.
Based on the list, there were 80 projects in the original proposal, but Congress removed 26 and replaced it with 22 projects, mostly in Naujan and Calapan.
In his speech, Lacson noted that Naujan – the largest municipality in the province – secured most of the funding for flood control in Oriental Mindoro this year.
For Panaligan, there was nothing irregular with it as his province is among the most flood-prone in the country.
He expressed support for an investigation into alleged substandard projects, saying the DPWH should be held accountable as they are the ones tasked to implement them.
“We are not the proponent (of those projects)… The insertions, I did not ask for that,” the lawmaker said.
LGUs air side
As the extent of corruption in flood control projects unravels, some mayors and other local officials came out to explain their side and initiate investigation.
Mayor Lem Faustino of Calumpit, Bulacan has launched an online petition against anomalous flood control projects not only in the province but those in other parts of the country as well.
Faustino posted on Facebook an online petition with a Google sheet link where residents of Calumpit can affix their signatures to support the call for accountability, transparency and justice to victims of flooding and questionable flood control projects.
“I am calling on every Calumpiteno – leaders, youth, workers, parents and ordinary citizens to unite and sign this petition,” she said in Filipino. The signatures gathered would be sent to the Office of the President.
In Calumpit alone, 37 flood control projects worth P2.19 billion were reported from July 2022 to December 2024.
The town was among the areas in Bulacan that got submerged in floods last month due to heavy rains brought by storms and the southwest monsoon. It is currently under a state of calamity.
Faustino said they had hoped that the flood control projects would ease flooding in their town, but ended up frustrated on learning they had only enriched corrupt officials and private contractors.
“It’s painful to realize we had flood control projects that turned out to be ghost projects,” she said in Filipino over dzBB.
Except for an engineer, no other official from the Department of Public Works and Highways had coordinated with the local government about the flood control projects.
The city government of Baliuag, for its part, reported that a river wall in Purok 4, Barangay Piel supposedly constructed by the DPWH had turned out to be a ghost project. President Marcos confirmed the irregularity while personally inspecting the project last Wednesday.
In a statement, the city government said the City Engineering Office or any of its offices had never been approached or consulted about the project by the DPWH or its private contractors.
It said it would make sure future projects would be undertaken in close coordination with the local government as safeguard against corruption.
Meanwhile, Enrile, Cagayan Mayor Miguel Decena Jr. also reported substandard infrastructure projects in the city that were implemented without proper consultation with the local government. One of the projects, the newly constructed ?5.9-million bridge in Barangay Alibago, collapsed in the first week of December last year. The case the city filed against the contractors had been dismissed.
He cited a declaration by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the area near the bridge as a “no-build zone.”
After the quick collapse of the P1.2-billion Cabagan-Sta. Maria Bridge in Isabela last February, a congressional probe into the structural integrity of other fallen bridges nationwide was also launched. Decena said he is ready to appear before the Senate if invited. - Emmanuel Tupas, Ramon Lazaro, Artemio Dumlao