Cebu floods expose P26-B wasted projects

Days ago, as Typhoon Tino ripped through the country, we were shocked to see another nightmare unfold in Cebu – roads turned into rivers and homes became islands surrounded by floodwaters.

All this while P26 billion was supposedly spent on flood control projects in the province.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon should take a look at this and investigate the DPWH officials in charge of Cebu, led by DPWH regional director for Central Visayas Danilo “Danny” Villa Jr.

Wasn’t he among those on the list of DPWH officials whom Dizon, in September, flagged for lavish lifestyles?

This is worth looking into for sure, especially in light of the recent floods.

As seen in the dispatches from Cebu, cities and towns were in total mayhem. Nature’s wrath spilled across Metro Cebu, devastating a province still reeling from a deadly magnitude 6.9 earthquake just a month ago.

Homes and vehicles were covered in flash floods, murky and muddy. Riverside homes in sprawling subdivisions were flooded.

All types of vehicles including sedans, vans and SUVs floated away, others piled on top of each other, submerged in deep floodwaters.

In many places, residents took refuge on the second or higher floors of their homes or on rooftops.

In Talisay alone, some subdivisions, including those near the mouth of the river, were badly affected. Most of these residential communities have not experienced such flooding before, according to a dzMM report, quoting local officials.

What a tragedy to see yet another concrete example of how stealing money meant for flood control projects can kill people, destroy homes and wash away dreams.

Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro hit the nail on the head when she said in a Facebook post: “P26 billion of flood control funds for Cebu yet we are flooded to the max.”

At least 48 people have been confirmed dead, as of this writing, while several others remain missing after the typhoon dumped more than a month’s worth of rain, triggering landslides and what authorities describe as the worst flooding Cebu has experienced in recent history (The Freeman, Nov. 5).

All this happened despite Cebu having a large number of flood control projects.

‘Areas with the largest number  of flood control projects’

According to a Sept. 9 report from local media publication CDN, since 2022, Cebu has been the recipient of a total of 414 flood control projects worth over P26 billion.

The report noted that the capital, Cebu City, has the largest number of flood control projects, at 47, with a total worth of P1.8 billion, followed by the town of Malabuyoc, located approximately 120 kilometers southwest of Cebu City.

But all the flood control projects in Malabuyoc, interestingly, cost almost double those of Cebu City, at P3.3 billion, CDN also reported.

“At least 15 of the flood control projects found in Malabuyoc had been undertaken by Dumanjug-based construction firm QM Builders, whose founder and owner, Engr. Allan Quirante, earlier appeared before the Senate to answer questions from lawmakers.”

Familiar? For sure. QM Builders was among the top 15 contractors nationwide that bagged multimillion-peso flood control projects.

In a separate report published in October, The Freeman reported that Gov. Baricuatro raised the possibility that the Senate Blue Ribbon committee’s investigations into flood control projects be conducted in Cebu also.

Considering the number of flood control projects poured into the island, Baricuatro sees the need for the Senate to scrutinize these projects right here in the province and verify if there are anomalies, she said.

She likewise confirmed that some of the projects were terminated by the local government due to discrepancies in their work.

Against this backdrop, we hope that authorities, including the Senate Blue Ribbon, will indeed look into the flood control infrastructure in Cebu.

Only an exhaustive audit of these projects will unearth discrepancies and anomalies.

The head of the snake

Of course, when there are wrongdoings, those involved, all the way to the mastermind, should not go unpunished.

Only a full investigation will determine who was responsible for such brazen negligence in public works projects in Cebu, which is surely among the factors that led to the recent tragedy that struck the province.

If only DPWH and contractors in Cebu put the right type of infrastructure to control the floods, the damage would not have been as severe, a source told me.

As I said, Dizon should look into the DPWH engineers assigned in Cebu, as well as their superiors.

Their lavish lifestyles include having properties in the uber-upscale Maria Luisa Estate Park in Cebu, touted as the “most desirable and exclusive neighborhood to live in Cebu.”

Last month, Dizon already issued show cause orders to 10 DPWH executives to answer allegations of approving substandard infrastructure projects, failing to cooperate with investigators, as well as living lavishly.

The list included Villa who officially took over the position of director of DPWH regional office-VII in July 2024.

Prior to that, a DPWH document showed that Villa was reassigned as district engineer of the Cebu 7th District Engineering Office, under DPWH regional office VII, signed by no less than then DPWH secretary Mark Villar.

By the way, the Cebu 7th District Office, which includes Malabuyoc, got a significant amount of the flood control allocation even if it’s not severely flood prone.

Ah, truly the plot gets thicker every day.

*      *      *

Email: [email protected]. Follow her on X 
@eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.