Bulacan’s 200 flood control projects stalled
CITY OF MALOLOS—Nearly half of the 603 infrastructure projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan First District Engineering Office remain pending, including around 200 flood control projects that are critical to protecting communities vulnerable to heavy rains, typhoons and high tides.
Lawyer Darius Francis Paduada, legal officer of the DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office, said during a recent public hearing called by Vice Gov. Alexis Castro that around 200 to nearly half of the pending projects in the district involve flood control infrastructure.
The projects cover the first, second and fifth congressional districts, including flood-prone coastal and adjacent areas, such as Hagonoy, Calumpit, Malolos City, Paombong, Bulakan and Pulilan, as well as high-tide-affected towns including Guiguinto, Balagtas, Bocaue and Pandi.
The first, second and fifth congressional districts are under the DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office.
Paduada said construction of the flood control projects was halted amid the ongoing investigation into the DPWH flood control project scandal that erupted last year.
The remaining pending projects include school buildings and classrooms, roads and multipurpose facilities. Some have already been completed and are being used but remain listed as pending because they have yet to be formally turned over to their intended recipients due to the investigation.
“From 200 to almost half of these are flood control projects, but there are also completed classrooms and school buildings and are already being used today. However, they remain tagged as pending because there was no turnover made to the recipient schools due to the ongoing investigation,” Paduada said.
Inspection
Paduada said flood control projects in Barangays Frances, Bulusan and Calizon in Calumpit, which President Marcos inspected last year after reports of alleged irregularities, have since resumed construction.
The discovery of the alleged ghost projects in the three barangays triggered investigations that led to the identification of other controversial flood control projects in areas covered by the Bulacan First District Engineering Office.
Several former DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office officials have been charged with graft and malversation of public funds and are under government custody. Contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Dioscaya is also among those facing charges.
Meanwhile, the DPWH Bulacan Second District Engineering Office, which covers parts of the fourth and sixth congressional districts and the lone district of San Jose del Monte City, has at least 29 flood control projects.
Engr. Ace Caper, assistant district engineer of the DPWH Bulacan Second District Engineering Office, said many of the projects that began in 2025 remain under implementation and still require additional funding for completion.
The DPWH Bulacan Third District Engineering Office had nearly 90 infrastructure projects in 2025, about 10 of which were flood control projects. No anomalous or ghost flood control projects have been reported in the second and third district engineering offices.
Paduada said the DPWH plans to conduct a P200-million comprehensive feasibility study and master plan for flood mitigation infrastructure across Bulacan in 2027.
