Budget chief: No more ‘imaginary,’ ‘idle’ flood control projects
No more room for “imaginary” or ghost projects as Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman wants the national funding for the country’s flood control program to be visible, functional, and impactful.
The budget chief said the DBM will ensure that no centavo will go to waste to avoid a repeat of last week when many areas across the country turned into virtual lagoons and lakes due to southwest monsoon (“habagat”) rains and three storms. This despite billions of pesos already poured into flood control projects.
“The funds we allocate in our national budget should not be imaginary or left idle. They should be visible, functional, felt, and truly helpful to our fellow citizens,” Pangandaman said on Friday.
“We do not want a repeat of what happened during the past storms when most areas in the country turned into swimming pools due to the deep floods, and some cars ended up like submarines. This caused a lot of inconvenience to our fellow Filipinos,” she added.
Spurred into action
Pangandaman met with high-ranking officials on Friday for the first Special Program Convergence Budgeting Steering Committee (PCB-SC) meeting to discuss flood mitigation and water security issues.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources, National Irrigation Administration, Department of Energy, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, UP Research Institute, and the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev).
The consultation came after President Marcos, during his fourth State of the Nation Address, issued a stern warning to officials involved in corruption related to the country’s flood control projects.
“Shame on you. Be ashamed because our fellow Filipinos were swept by floods or were submerged in floodwaters. Be ashamed of our children who will inherit that debt incurred because of what you committed, because you pocketed the funds,” Mr. Marcos said in Filipino.
Propriety
The President’s pronouncement has spurred the executive and legislative into action with plans to probe problematic flood-control projects as well as to tighten their audit.
At the House of Representatives, Negros Occidental Rep. Albee Benitez called on DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan to take a leave of absence amid Mr. Marcos’ order for an audit on all flood control projects constructed since the start of his administration in 2022.
In a statement, Benitez questioned the propriety of Bonoan staying onboard the agency amid an impending inquiry into the failures of the various flood control projects in the country.
Flood masterplan
“Out of delicadeza, and to help preserve the integrity of any inquiry, I respectfully urge the DPWH Secretary to take a leave of absence while the investigation is ongoing,” Benitez said. “This simple act of good faith will go a long way toward restoring public trust and ensuring that the process is impartial and credible.”
He added that the “implementor (of the flood control projects) should not be the evaluator.”
Following Friday’s first PCB-SC meeting, Pangandaman and DEPDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan called for a unified flood masterplan that would address Metro Manila’s recurring flood problem.
The two Cabinet secretaries noted that local government units have already expressed interest in funding projects, but that it was up to the administration to come up with a master plan.
There is already a Metro Manila Flood Management Master Plan signed by the World Bank and the National Economic Development Authority back in 2012, three years after the devastating flooding caused by Tropical Storm “Ondoy” in 2009.
The masterplan hoped to, among others, reduce flooding from river systems and upgrade the metropolis’ drainage systems, which were largely built in the 1970s and are capable of holding water from once-in-25-years flood events.
Ondoy, for example, was a once-in-100-years flood event.
Unfinished
The master plan’s first phase, however, has yet to be finished even though its deadline was 2024.
Balisacan noted that the government was pouring more money into social welfare programs like Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) and Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (MAIP), both of which were flagged as pork barrel by civil watchdogs.
“It’s not rocket science. There are more long-term benefits in (funding flood mitigation),” he said.
A look at the 2024 national budget shows that the country spends as much as P349.3 billion just for DPWH-led flood control projects.
This includes, among others, P71 billion for the agency’s flood mitigation structures; P144 billion for the construction and maintenance of flood mitigation structures and drainage systems; P33.6 billion for flood mitigation structures protecting public infrastructure and facilities; and P100.5 billion for the construction and rehabilitation of flood mitigation facilities with major river basins and principal rivers.
