Senator Risa Hontiveros questioned the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) officials Friday over alleged failures in Cebu flood control projects that cost nearly P50 billion over the last decade.
Of that total, Hontiveros said P26 billion was spent in the last three years alone, yet 150 people died, 451 were injured, and hundreds of thousands lost their homes following recent disasters.
“Given the scale of investment… with the sheer volume of flood control projects supposedly in place to keep people safe, why did it come to this?” she said.
DPWH Undersecretary Arthur Bisnar, in response, said Secretary Vince Dizon will submit a formal report in the coming days detailing the reasons for the projects’ ineffectiveness and recommendations for future action.
Hontiveros continued to cite reports from the National Bureau of Investigation and Cebu provincial officials labeling several projects as substandard or ghost projects.
Bisnar acknowledged that investigations point to a combination of factors including negligence, incompetence, and corruption, amplified by underfunding and mismanagement of the projects.
The senator then mentioned that a master plan for Cebu, created with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2017, was not implemented, raising questions about why long-term planning was ignored.
“We cannot allow that to continue. A master plan that should not be neglected was neglected… it must be cared for and protected for the sake of our citizens, the taxpayers who paid for it through the department, and those who contributed through JICA or other partners,” Hontiveros said.
Bisnar agreed personally that gross negligence played a role and suggested the DPWH legal team consider pursuing accountability against contractors for damages.
