Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson has bared a massive web of corruption in government flood control projects, accusing contractors of colluding with Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials to pocket billions meant to protect Filipinos from devastating floods.
In a privilege speech, Lacson revealed that 60% of the budget for flood control projects was lost to corruption, leaving only 40% for actual implementation.
He cited “ghost” flood control projects in Bulacan, Pampanga, and Oriental Mindoro, most of which were “uniformly” funded with over ₱77 million each.
“In the course of our research and investigation, we encountered several words – their meanings, we could not find in the dictionary. So we looked somewhere else. Alas! We found them – in the ‘corruptionary,’” Lacson said.
For more than 15 years, from 2011 to 2025, Congress appropriated over ₱1.9 trillion under the DPWH for flood control management.
“When we are speaking in trillions of pesos, we can expect our streets and low-lying communities to be flood-free when the rains pour. Corruption has been so pervasive and systemic that doing so is like a piece of cake,” Lacson declared.
“And when I say ‘piece of cake,’ I mean that funds for a specific project are divided, shares vary depending on greed, big parts swallowed by corrupt operators, both from the public and private sectors, leaving only crumbs for actual project implementation,” he added.
Lacson said anomalies follow a clear pattern: budget insertions funneled into overpriced projects, repeated repairs to justify bloated costs, substandard works that collapse after a few rains, or projects that were never built at all.
“Sa haba at lawak ng aming pagsisiyasat… halos pare-pareho ang pattern kung paano minamasaker ng mga kawatan ang pondo ng bayan,” he said.
Among the cases flagged:
*Candaba flood control in Pampanga ballooned from ₱20 million to ₱274 million due to repeated repairs.
*Bauang River Basin in La Union rose from ₱100 million to nearly ₱1.6 billion through budget insertions.
*Naujan, Oriental Mindoro received ₱19 billion in three years, yet its dikes still collapsed after rains.