Joselito Malig

Article (news)

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- The number of anomalous flood control projects in the country peaked in the years 2023 and 2024, among all the flood control projects audited so far since 2018.This was revealed during the interpellation of former Senate President Francis Escudero on the 2026 agency budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways on Tuesday night.Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sherwin Gatchalian spoke for the agency during the Senate&#x27;s plenary deliberation.Escudero cited DPWH records which stated that there were 30,000 flood control projects from 2018 to 2025, and of the 8,000 projects that were validated, 421 were found to be ghost projects.Gatchalian confirmed this.&quot;Nabanggit po ni Secretary Dizon na ang suspected ghost projects nationwide is 421 at ito po ay tuloy-tuloy po yung validation ng ICI at DPWH.&quot; Gatchalian said.Escudero asked Gatchalian on behalf of  the agency when most of these projects were budgeted.&quot;At base sa kanilang initial na pag-aaral, mga anong taon na may pinakamaraming ghost projects sa na-identify nilang 8,000 proyekto out of 30,000.&quot; Ecsudero asked. &quot;Doon sa na-identify po lamang na 421 initially, anong taon po karamihan ito? Alam ko po na ang saklaw na period ay 2018 hanggang 2025. Ang tinatanong ko po, ano pong taon karamihan ang may nakita kayo? &quot;&quot;Mga 2023 at 2024 po ang peak o pinakamaraming out of this 421 suspected,&quot; Gatchalian said.Escudero noted this is consistent with the revelations of Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson in a past speech.Gatchalian said the current budget may still be spent till next year.&quot;Valid pa ho until 2026. Ang obligation rate po nila is 76%. Ang disbursement po is about 49%. So yung mga hindi ho na gastos nila, valid until 2026. &quot;Escudero got Gatchalian to spell out how the agency intends to make sure the remaining flood control projects won&#x27;t become anomalous.&quot;So nabanggit po ni Secretary Dizon sa akin na nagkaroon din ho silang reshuffling ng mga district engineers at at the same time may strict instructions ang Secretary na dapat lahat po ng projects ini-inspect para po masigurado na wala pong ghost projects and substandard projects. At the same time, inilunsad na po yung transparency portal na lahat po ay nandoon yung projects. So ang taong bayan mismo, pwede nang magsumbong, mag-report, o pwede nang magbigay ng informasyon kung ano po yung status ng project,&quot; Gatchalian said.He added that the costs of the projects have been reduced.&quot;So dahil po yung itong mga natitirang flood control projects ay hindi na-implement, nagkaroon din ng maganda pagkakataon ang DPWH na magkaroon ng recosting. At based po sa kanilang recosting, up to 50% ang nabawasan po sa, on the average to, sa iba&#x27;t ibang proyekto ng DPWH tulad po ng bridges, tulad po ng roads, pati ho-flood control. So ito naman yung kagandahan na na-delay ng konti dahil nagkaroon sila ng oportunidad na babaaan yung presyo,&quot; Gatchalian said. &quot;So up to 50%, Mr. President, depende rin sa regions. May region na mataas, may region na mababa. So up to 50% yung natipid nila. Depende rin sa materyales, depende rin kung saan, kasi may logistical issues rin. &quot;About P255 billion of flood control projects for 2026 were removed from the DPWH budget under the National Expenditure Program.

The number of anomalous flood control projects in the country peaked in the years 2023 and 2024, among all the flood control projects audited so far since 2018.

The number of anomalous flood control projects in the country peaked in the years 2023 and 2024, among all the flood control projects audited so far since 2018.

'Anomalous flood control projects peaked in 2023, 2024'

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'Anomalous flood control projects peaked in 2023, 2024'

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published November 25, 2025 10:28 PM PHT

Read More:

Senate

flood control scandal

2026 national budget

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