DPWH flood project with 66 ‘phases’ flagged in Quezon City

MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City government has flagged various anomalies in flood control projects implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), including one with at least “66 phases” funded in the last four years.

“I am convinced that there are anomalous projects,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a press briefing yesterday, where she bared the initial findings of their assessment of DPWH flood control projects in the city.

Among those she cited was a project called “Rehabilitation of San Juan River,” which the city government discovered to have been broken down into 66 phases.

Twenty phases of these projects were tagged as completed in the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” website, with costs ranging from P18.5 million to P92.6 million.

DPWH records confirmed notices of award for subsequent phases of the same project, with the latest – Phase LXVI or 66 – amounting to P145.5 million.

Belmonte said the specifics of the project were unclear.

“Is this a retaining wall, a pumping station, dredging or slope protection?” she asked in Filipino. “Along the 4.3-kilometer stretch of the San Juan River that passes through Quezon City, where exactly are the Phases 1 to 66 located? What is this supposed to mean, one nail per year?”

City engineer Mark Dale Perral said they are still trying to locate the projects along San Juan River to verify the report that some of the “phases” have already been completed.

Wrong coordinates

The city also discovered other issues with the projects, such as the 23 parts with incorrect coordinates in the records.

According to Perral, the 23 parts have been plotted in other locations. Others have yet to be located.

But city officials stopped short of saying that these were “ghost projects,” clarifying that they are still trying to determine if the projects are in another area.

There were 141 completed DPWH projects listed in the Sumbong sa Pangulo website.

Belmonte confirmed at least another 113 mostly ongoing projects funded from 2021 to 2025, amounting to over P14.34 billion.

Only two of these projects secured a certificate of coordination with the city government, she said.

City Hall said 93 of the projects have already been inspected, with officials confirming that many are not aligned with the city’s drainage masterplan, including the roadway over Mendez Creek in Barangay Baesa.

“Our evaluation is ongoing,” Perral said when asked about the project’s impact on the flood situation in the area.

Specific details of the project have yet to be released, but a summary of projects from the DPWH in 2021 showed one titled “Rehabilitation of Mendez Creek” that was awarded to a contractor for a little over P24 million.

Perral said many of the projects involve the construction of retaining walls or slope protection, which may even reduce the capacity of waterways.

Belmonte stressed the importance of aligning projects with the city’s drainage masterplan.

“I want to reiterate that we are not against the implementation of national projects in our city. We are always open to collaborating with our national counterparts,” Belmonte said.

“But let me also make it clear: the days when projects are simply dumped on our city without consultation or coordination are over. We insist on a new standard of inter-governmental relations – one that respects the voice of local governments and upholds the dignity of our citizens,” she added.

(To be continued)