MANILA: Setting the wheels in motion on the President’s commitment to go after unscrupulous contractors, the Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered an immediate fraud audit of all flood-control projects in Bulacan province, which received the largest share of funding in Central Luzon from 2022 to 2025.
In a memorandum dated Aug. 12, COA Chair Gamaliel Cordoba cited findings from the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” website, which showed that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) implemented P548 billion (US$9.6 billion) worth of flood control projects nationwide from the start of the Marcos administration on July 1, 2022, until May 30 this year.
Of this amount, Cordoba said Central Luzon received P98 billion, or 18 per cent of the total, with Bulacan cornering the biggest chunk at P44 billion, or 45 per cent.
“Given the critical issues raised by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. regarding the implementation of these projects, particularly in the Province of Bulacan, a fraud audit is an immediate and unequivocal necessity,” Cordoba said.
He directed supervising auditors or audit team leaders in DPWH district engineering offices in Central Luzon to submit all relevant documents in their hands to the Fraud Audit Office.
He also ordered them to “ensure [their] availability to assist the fraud audit teams at any time during the audit.”
The memorandum, made public during the weekend, came days after Marcos inspected a botched P96.4-million dike rehabilitation project in Calumpit, Bulacan, on Aug. 15.
The COA’s action also follows the administration’s ongoing investigation of all 9,855 flood control projects implemented by the DPWH since 2022.
Earlier last week, the President unveiled a database of these projects through the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” online portal, which allows the public to submit reports on the status of flood mitigation measures in their areas.
One of the most significant findings so far is that 15 of the 2,409 accredited contractors bagged P100 billion worth of big-ticket projects, equivalent to 18 per cent of the entire budget since Marcos took office.
An Inquirer analysis also revealed that one of these top contractors, the MG Samidan Construction and Development Corp., had a paid-up capital of only P250,000 but bagged P5 billion worth of flood-control deals in the past three years.
According to the National Adaptation Plan of the Philippines 2023-2025, the most flood-prone areas in the country are Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Oriental Mindoro and Ilocos Norte.
The document also showed that Bulacan topped the list of provinces with the most flood control projects at 668, followed by Cebu (414), Isabela (341), Pangasinan (313), and Pampanga (292).
Completing the top 10 are Albay (273), Leyte (262), Tarlac (258), Camarines Sur (252), and Ilocos Norte (224).
Meanwhile, former Senate President Franklin Drilon on Sunday said that independent agencies, and not Congress, should take the lead in investigating the projects.
In an interview with radio dzBB, Drilon said he doubts whether Congress can credibly investigate the multi-billion flood-control deals.
“The [COA] and the Ombudsman should take the lead,” he said. “The COA’s function is to exact accountability, while the Ombudsman is the agency that files anti-graft cases.”
“For me, without casting aspersions, what’s difficult is that people won’t believe the result of [a congressional] investigation, because these are the same people, right? Because whatever you say, the congressmen and the senators…they are the ones who place [budget] insertions, then they will also be the one to investigate?” he said.
Flood control has emerged as one of the fastest-growing items in the national budget.
The allocation stands at P346.6 billion under the 2025 General Appropriations Act and P224.8 billion in 2024, or roughly P590 billion in just two years.
Under the recently-submitted 2026 National Expenditures Program, the allocation for flood control projects is P275 billion, Drilon said.
By comparison, the allocation for flood control projects in 2016—the last year of the Aquino administration—was P64.2 billion, according to the former Senate leader, who previously chaired the Senate committee on finance.
“The current budget is about five times higher than that figure,” he noted.
Drilon also called for the abolition of district engineers in the DPWH, saying their functions only duplicate those of regional directors.
“The truth is, the district engineer ignores the regional director. The usual excuse — this is the money of a congressman, this is the money of a senator. This means they should no longer interfere,” he said.
Last week, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong also underscored the importance of creating an independent body to probe flood-control projects.
“What is important here is the creation of an investigating body [because] it cannot be Congress who would investigate. What even is the use of the words ‘You should be ashamed?,’” Magalong said. “The message of the President was directed to those in Congress, meaning the anomalies he saw were inside the Congress. So, what is their moral ascendency to conduct an investigation?” - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
