📷: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. extended assistance to 276 families affected by Typhoon Tino who are temporarily staying at the Talisay Sports Academy Evacuation Center in Talisay City, Cebu. ( Presidential Communications Office |FB)
ACT Teachers Party-list Representative and Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio has sounded the alarm over what he calls a “massive failure of governance,” citing the inability of P9.2 billion worth of flood control projects funded through Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA) to protect Visayas communities from the deadly flash floods triggered by Typhoon Tino.
Tinio revealed that 115 flood control projects were approved for Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Negros Occidental between 2023 and 2024. The lion’s share—102 projects worth P8.43 billion—was allocated to Cebu alone. Negros Oriental received P145 million for three projects, while Negros Occidental got P630 million for ten.
Despite these allocations, Tinio said, “The devastation wrought by Typhoon Tino proves that these projects failed to deliver. Communities were left exposed, and lives were lost.”
Tinio emphasized that these UA-funded projects were discretionary and approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “He is directly accountable for these projects and must explain why they failed to mitigate the devastation,” Tinio said.
He further criticized the lack of transparency, noting that all 102 Cebu projects lacked basic documentation. “This is corruption by design. How can the public verify a project with no specifications?”
Calling UA a “slush fund for corruption,” Tinio said the misuse of these funds contributed to the disaster’s deadly toll. “Billions were supposedly spent, yet communities were left defenseless,” he charged.
Tinio concluded with a call for a full congressional investigation and the abolition of UA. “Across the country, the result is the same: billions stolen, communities left vulnerable, lives lost.” (ZIA LUNA)
