Cebu governor ‘sings’ PHP 26-billion wasted in flood control

By Herbert Vego

IT matters not that she is a political ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

This was the cryptic message that Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro (PDP-Laban) imparted to Cebuanos when she blamed the former government for wasting most of the PHP 26.6-billion for either ghost or substandard flood control projects in the province which suffered the worst destruction during the onslaught of typhoon Tino.

This was the gist of her report submitted to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) last Wednesday.

The cumulative spending on flood control projects from 2016 to 2025 has been cited to be approximately PHP 1.7 trillion.

Some of that amount must have come from the Philippines’ total national debt which has accumulated to PHP 16.75 trillion as of the end of April 2025. Based on information revealed by the Department of Finance (DOF), this includes PHP 11.59 trillion in domestic debt and PHP 5.16 trillion in external debt.

It’s a big leap from the PHP 5.948 trillion national debt at the beginning of the Duterte administration

It had doubled to PHP 12.76 trillion by the end of Duterte’s term in 2022.

In terms of flood mitigation, the annual budget has significantly increased, rising from PHP 79 billion in 2016 to over PHP 200 billion annually in later years. In 2025, the DPWH’s flood control expenses are said to have hit 360 billion.

According to the DPWH, it has spent over PHP 545 billion on 9,855 flood control projects between July 2022 and May 2025.

Knowledge of those figures must have jolted President Marcos into denouncing corruption in flood control projects, resulting in widespread storm-enhanced floodings.

To summarize, he revealed that 20% of flood control projects in the past three years were awarded to only 15 contractors, to whom were awarded approximately PHP 100 billion of the PHP 545 billion budget.

“Five of these contractors had projects in almost the entire country,” Marcos said.

He was referring to [P1]  Legacy Construction Corp., Alpha & Omega Gen. Contractor & Development Corp., St. Timothy Construction Corporation, EGB Construction Corp., and Road Edge Trading & Development Services.

For an update, on Oct. 8, “newly-minted” DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon met with the officials of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) at its office in Taguig City and found out that out of the 8,000 flood control projects inspected nationwide, 421 were “ghosts,” and still counting.

Some of these projects have been linked to specific contractors, notably spouses Curley and Sarah Discaya, who own nine construction companies.

Meanwhile, Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas has asked the ICI to also verify the story that nearly ₱4 billion worth of flood control projects awarded to favored contractors by the Iloilo City District Engineering Office (ICDEO) are substandard, unfinished, or “ghosts”.

The Iloilo City Hall has no direct jurisdiction over the ICDEO, which is directly under the national government through the DPWH.

Hence, it is not surprising that the city’s congresswoman, Rep. Julienne Baronda, being a national official in coordination with the DPWH, begs to disagree with the mayor’s suspicion.

But the mayor argues that while the ICDEO is a national agency, it must still comply with local government regulations and laws when undertaking projects within its territorial jurisdiction.

Anyway, let us expect ICI Chairperson Andres Reyes Jr. to come here and find out whether the “ghost” allegations are true or false.

-oOo-

NEW BUSINESS FOR MANNY PACQUIAO

HAT’S off to national boxing icon and former Senator Manny Pacquiao for going into the digital wallet business known as Manny Pay.

Pacquiao has officially signed a partnership with Primelectric President Roel Castro to include Manny Pay among the third-party collection agents for Primelectric’s utility services.

The two showed up for the official launch of the Manny Pay app at the Shangri-La Makati on Oct. 30, 2025.

Primelectric is the parent company of MORE Power in Iloilo, Negros Power in Central Negros, and Bohol Light in Tagbilaran City, serving a combined total of nearly 400,000 consumers.