The Senate will launch an inquiry into the alleged misuse of the government’s flood control budget, Senator Erwin Tulfo announced Thursday—just days after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. criticized public officials in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) for allegedly pocketing infrastructure funds.
“We’ve already discussed it. This will be investigated. In fact, a bill has already been filed. The problem is that many politicians allegedly have contracting businesses on the side,” Tulfo said in an interview with ANC.
He added that Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero has filed a bill seeking to prohibit public officials, lawmakers, and their relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity from participating in government procurement contracts.
During his recent SONA, President Marcos ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to submit a list of all flood control projects that were started or completed in the last three years. The President said the list would be made public for transparency and citizen feedback.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, meanwhile, pointed out that the government has spent nearly ₱2 trillion on flood control projects over the past 15 years.
“After I was proclaimed, I began reviewing the budget with my prospective staff. The 2025 budget is not the only contentious one. We also looked back at 2024, 2023—even all the way back to 2011, the first budget year of former President Aquino. We’ve seen consistent increases in both flood levels and the flood control budget,” Lacson said in a DZMM interview.
“Isn’t it absurd that the rise in floodwaters is directly proportional to the increase in the flood control budget? It doesn’t make sense. It’s a complete paradox. We were surprised to find that ₱1.907 trillion was spent over 15 years—almost ₱2 trillion. We’re now looking into it, and we’ve already found some red flags,” he added.
In a blog post, Lacson also cited information relayed to him by Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, suggesting that lawmakers’ cuts in infrastructure projects could reach as high as 35 percent. For flood control projects, the cut could be at least 50 percent, he said.
