Solon debunks P180-B flood works in Davao Sur
DIGOS CITY—Davao del Sur Rep. John Tracy Cagas corrected reports that his province has been allocated P180 billion for flood control projects.
Cagas, who represents the lone district of Davao del Sur, said the combined budget allocated for flood control for Davao City and Davao del Sur last year was P10 billion covering 168 projects, of which only 28, and worth P2.37 billion, were in the province.
Although Davao City had been classified as a chartered city independent of Davao del Sur, most government communications still refer to the highly-urbanized city as part of Davao del Sur.
Cagas, however, corrected the report published in the Sumbong sa Pangulo portal, which published data about flood control projects in the country as part of government’s move to promote transparency.
He said the figure was inaccurate since Davao del Sur only had P2.37 billion for flood control projects last year.
Cagas did not say which projects were undertaken in his province last year costing over P2 billion and which were those that were done in Davao City.
Top contracts
However, among the projects listed in the Sumbong sa Pangulo portal under Davao del Sur was the construction of a concrete revetment along Davao River in Calinan District Davao City costing P86.8 million and undertaken by Arcinue Commercial Corporation, with Dec. 13, 2024 as completion date.
For Davao del Sur, among the top flood control activities listed in the Sumbong sa Pangulo portal included the construction of revetment along Padada-Mainit River (Tanwalang Section) in Sulop, Davao del Sur for 96,495,228.29, which was listed as completed April 20 this year and undertaken by Sunwest Inc., which is in President Marcos’ list of top 15 construction firms that have bagged most of the country’s flood control contracts.
Another was the P96.5-million construction of flood control structure along Padada-Mainit River (Tanwalang-Upper Katipunan Section 1) in Sulop, Davao del Sur, undertaken by the Davao Del Sur Legacy Construction Corporation supposedly completed on Dec. 28, 2024.
Also in the list are two revetment works (packages c and d), also along Padada-Mainit River, contracted to the Rosbill Construction and Supply, costing P91.5 million and P90.2 million, respectively, both of which were listed as completed in January this year.
Cagas urged the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to provide the exact report regarding flood control projects allocated to Davao del Sur to shed light on the issue.
Inventory
He clarified though that he was fully supportive and would cooperate with the ongoing oversight initiated by the Office of the President on flood control projects in his province.
“In line with my duty to ensure proper implementation of public projects, I have formally requested the DPWH to conduct a thorough inspection and inventory of all flood control projects from 2020 to 2025. This includes projects listed in the Sumbong sa Pangulo website,” Cagas said.
“The aim is to identify issues, verify the proper use of funds, and, if needed, repair portions of these projects that are still under warranty but may have deteriorated over time,” Cagas added.
He said this also reflected the oversight function of his office to ensure that projects intended to protect the people in the communities were implemented effectively and responsibly.
Cagas assured that he was serving the people of Davao del Sur with integrity and that government resources had been properly used to make sure that communities remained safe from flooding and other hazards brought about by natural and even manmade disasters.
“Rest assured, I will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates as they become available,” he said.
Baseless attacks
In Davao City, First District Rep. Paolo Duterte had earlier lashed out at Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido Abante who said that the city remained prone to flooding despite the P51-billion budget for infrastructures that included flood-control projects.
Paolo told Abante to stop dragging his brother’s name, Acting Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, into the controversy, saying the attack was misplaced and baseless.
“Let me be clear—every project allocated to my district has been properly implemented and completed. If Abante wants the figures, I am directing the DPWH district and regional offices to release to him the official data and the corresponding amount,” Duterte said.
He said the lawmaker need not invoke his brother’s name to get answers, saying “any Dabawenyo can request project data from DPWH.”
