Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan on Monday denied social media claims that six lawmakers cornered P800-billion worth of flood control projects, calling the allegation “preposterous” during a House briefing on the agency’s infrastructure programs.
Appearing before the House Committee on Public Accounts, Bonoan said the DPWH had no record to support the widely circulated claim made by a political blogger, as Senior Deputy Speaker David Suarez strongly condemned the post and warned against the spread of such disinformation.
“What I can say (is) we don’t have this kind of information at all in the department. To me, it’s a little preposterous, actually, to have something like this—P800 billion for six members of Congress,” Bonoan said.
Suarez raised the issue, pointing to a Facebook post circulating online that accused unnamed lawmakers of manipulating flood control budgets for personal or political gain.
“I was informed that there have been posts on social media circulating identifying certain members of the House of Representatives, malicious in fact, stating that these congressmen control X amount of flood control projects… which has been shared many times,” Suarez said.
Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin, Jr. then asked Bonoan to state clearly on the record whether such an allocation existed. The DPWH denied it saying: “We don’t have any specific record of this kind of allocation for the six congressmen.”
Committee chairman Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon noted that the claim did not originate from any formal media outlet, but from a blog post on Facebook.
Suarez said the House took the issue seriously, especially as it carries out its oversight functions in response to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), which called for accountability in infrastructure spending.
“You know, with the problem that is happening in our country, many are politicizing it. Pointing fingers, making up a story,” Ridon said, referring to some malicious online posts.
“It’s totally unfair, especially if you’re out to destroy the good name of people who were duly elected by their districts,” he added.
Suarez said Congress would not allow falsehoods to erode public trust in institutions.
“We need to get our facts. We need to get the truth, especially when we’re trying to investigate issues and problems that affect the country,” he said, emphasizing that “fake news” should have “no place” in legitimate public discourse.
The briefing was part of the House’s formal review of flood control and drainage projects under the DPWH Unified Project Management Office – Flood Control Cluster, prompted in part by recent widespread flooding that stressed the urgency of effective and accountable infrastructure planning.
House lawmakers are examining performance, fund utilization, and oversight in response to the President’s call to eliminate “ghost projects,” corruption, and substandard work in government infrastructure programs.
