Marilyn Cahatol

Residents go about their daily activities in Barangay Meyto, Calumpit, Bulacan on September 10, 2025. 
SumbongSaPangulo.ph listed seven flood control projects in Barangays Meyto and San Jose, Calumpit, Bulacan—worth hundreds of millions of pesos and supposedly completed between 2023 and 2024 under the Bulacan First District Engineering Office, which is under scrutiny for alleged ghost projects in the province.

Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

FLOOD CONTROL PROBE - CALUMPIT

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:495px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175790696488820250910-flood-control-barangay-meyto-JC0427.jpg" style="width:617px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Residents go about their daily activities in Barangay Meyto, Calumpit, Bulacan on September 10, 2025. SumbongSaPangulo.ph listed seven flood control projects in Barangays Meyto and San Jose, Calumpit, Bulacan—worth hundreds of millions of pesos and supposedly completed between 2023 and 2024 under the Bulacan First District Engineering Office, which is under scrutiny for alleged ghost projects in the province. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The authority of local government units to inspect national projects before its completion and turnover will be restored, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday, underscoring that this safeguard was removed during the previous administration.</p><p>Marcos noted that during his tenure as Ilocos Norte governor, local government units were mandated to check the implementation of projects from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) before these were marked as completed.</p><p>“I have instructred the DPWH, and for that matter, all of the department to return that… yung acceptance [policy],” the President told reporters in Malacañang.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/9/lacson-links-ex-dpwh-sec-bonoan-to-contractor-2014">Lacson links ex-DPWH Sec. Bonoan to contractor</a></div><p>“This is an important safeguard. Titingnan nito talaga na tama [ang implementation ng project],” he said.</p><p>“Tinanggal ‘yun ng last admin. We are putting that back.”</p><p>It remains unclear when or why the policy was relaxed, but Marcos formed an<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/11/marcos-announces-creation-of-independent-body-on-flood-control-probe-1412"> independent panel </a>to investigate when and how funding for billions of pesos worth of government projects were allegedly tainted with corruption.</p><p>In the meantime, the President announced that funding for flood control projects under the proposed 2026 budget was <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/8/marcos-jr-says-no-more-budget-for-flood-control-projects-in-2026-2044">canceled</a>.</p><p>“Since we have canceled all flood control projects for 2026, those savings we have are already put out on a menu,” Marcos said.</p><p>“Kailangan maliwanag na maliwanag na pupunta sa tamang lugar so that all changes can only be made to the benefit of agencies here,” he said.</p><p>The flood control allocations under the 2026 National Expenditure Program may only be realigned to projects under the sectors of education, agriculture, health, housing, infrastructure, information and communications technology, labor and energy, he said.</p><p>The government will later release the list of projects that may receive the reallocation from flood control programs, he said.</p><p>Earlier this month, the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) urged national government agencies to closely coordinate with local officials to ensure that projects are properly implemented and that taxes would not be wasted on duplications.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/3/marcos-orders-sweeping-review-of-dpwh-budget-under-nep-1157">Marcos orders sweeping review of DPWH budget under NEP</a></div><p>Several mayors have also bemoaned that lack of consultation between national and local officials over the construction of several infrastructure projects.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/25/belmonte-says-most-dpwh-projects-in-quezon-city-skipped-local-government-2156">Belmonte says most DPWH projects in Quezon City skipped local government</a></div><p>These new policies come as the Marcos administration rush to solve corruption allegations hounding flood control projects across the country that were found to be either substandard, incomplete or nowhere to be found.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/15/marcos-on-anti-corruption-protests-if-i-wasn-t-president-i-might-be-out-in-the-streets-0950">‘Show that you are enraged’: Marcos backs mass protests vs flood control mess</a></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CTEsVR8_jRo?si=pSj9iRHl8z4jAcV1" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>The authority of local government units to inspect national projects before its completion and turnover will be restored, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday, underscoring that this safeguard was removed during the previous administration.</p>

The authority of local government units to inspect national projects before its completion and turnover will be restored, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday, underscoring that this safeguard was removed during the previous administration.

‘Tinanggal nung last admin’: Marcos to reinstate local gov’t power to inspect DPWH projects before turnover

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‘Tinanggal nung last admin’: Marcos to reinstate local gov’t power to inspect DPWH projects before turnover

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 15, 2025 11:41 AM PHT

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Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

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