By Diego Morra
While Malacanang has been blaming the leading 15 contractors of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the ghost flood control projects, the use of substandard materials and the failure of favored contractors to complete their projects, only progressive organizations have called for a comprehensive assessment of the 13,400 flood control projects under then Public Works Secretary Mark Villar during the Duterte administration and the nearly 9,500 projects under the current Marcos Jr. administration.
In mocking the fury of the Filipino people over the plunder of tax money, the Senate shamelessly appointed Mark Villar to head the chamber’s public works committee. Villar was SPWH chief from 2016 until he was elected to a Senate seat. His claim that delegated the task of approving flood control projects to a subordinate does not absolve him of culpability for the distribution of projects to favored contractors. Villar’s management theory technically justifies sending the fox to guard the henhouse.
Similarly, Mark Villar’s feverish attempt to wash his hands off the 440 joint ventures that their Primewater Infrastructure cut with local water districts (LWDs) sucks. Again, he delegated the task of approving such joint ventures to his subordinates. It was only during the Duterte regime that the Local Waterworks and Utilities Administration (LWUA) lost supervision of LWDs. No one has explained why these bodies, considered as government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), suddenly came under Villar’s ambit.
In the same vein, bad conscience characterizes the “expose” of Marcos Jr. about the systematic waste of public funds in flood control projects that the Commission on Audit (COA), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the DPWH willy-nilly allowed to continue despite their oversight functions. Marcos Jr. cannot shirk responsibility for this mess inasmuch as since 2023, the flood control budget has been steadily rising. If the President were diligent enough, as the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) argued, he should have assessed the program from the very start and not listened to the stories being dished out by Villar.
“Ito ay hindi lang away ng mga buwaya at gahaman. Pasintabi sa mga totoong buwaya. Ang nakikita natin ay malalang burukrata kapitalismo at kabulukan ng umiiral na sistem, at si Marcos ang namumuno sa sistemang ito,” explained KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos. “Marcos himself drafts and pushes the national budget, including the trillions allocated to flood control and infrastructure projects. He must be held accountable for this massive plunder.” Under Marcos Jr., nearly P1-trillion was allotted to flood control projects under annual national budget. Despite relentless reports about irregularities in flood control projects, the proposed 2026 budget still allocates P275-billion, the DBM confirmed.
The flood control budget allocations under Marcos Jr. are as follows: In 2023, it was P185-billion; the following year, DPWH secured P215.6-billion, separate from the P10-billion for MMDA and foreign-assisted programs, for a total of P225.7-billion; this year, more than P100-billion was added, pushing the allocation to P346.6 billion, with P16.7-billion vetoed by Marcos Jr. as “redundant”, and; the proposed budget for 2026 is P274.9-billion, with P272.3-billion for DPWH and P2.6-billion for MMDA, showing a token P71.7-billion (26%) slash from the current budget. In his last year’s SONA, Marcos Jr. even reported great strides in flood control, with about 5,500 projects completed. This year, his tune changed.
“Hindi na bago ang mga natuklasan ng Blue Ribbon Committee. Matagal nang lantad sa publiko kung gaano kakurakot ang DPWH,” Ramos stressed. “Matagal nang pugad ng korapsyon at katiwalian ang mga flood control at farm-to-market road projects para sa mga tiwaling opisyal at contractors. Ang pinaghirapang buwis ng taumbayan, ninanakaw ng mga gahaman.” What the figures tell us is that the Marcos administration refuses to dismantle the system. Instead, it continues to channel hundreds of billions into flood control. “Even with the Senate’s investigations, Marcos refuses to reform because his regime profits from it,” Ramos said. The DPWH—long notorious as a “den of corruption”—is directly under the Office of the President (OP.) The resignation of former Secretary Manny Bonoan and his replacement by Vince Dizon does not constitute in sea change at the department. “Whoever Marcos installs as secretary will serve at his pleasure. Changing faces at the top will not stop the grand looting that continues below,” Ramos said.
KMP condemned graft-ridden impunity at the DPWH and noted that congressional insertions in the department’s budget caused consternation among well-meaning officials who claimed that thousands of flood control projects sprouted like mushrooms in the budget proposal that passed the bicameral conference committee’s muster. What should be analyzed by the Senate, in case it is interested in cauterizing the plunder, is how the executive department has been using flood control funds and insertions to win the loyalty of lawmakers to Malacañang. “This is systemic plunder,” Ramos said. “It is not enough to blame contractors and low-ranking officials. If Marcos were serious about fighting corruption, he should go after the big fish—including himself. Instead, his so-called anti-corruption campaign is a PR stunt to tighten his grip on the national budget.”
