“The funds we allocate in our national budget should not be imaginary or left idle. They should be visible, functional, felt, and truly helpful to our fellow citizens,” said Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.
AS THE RECENT storms flooded parts of the country, the Philippines is drowning in debt.
This, as data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that the government’s outstanding debt is expected to balloon to P19.06 trillion next year.
This amount is a lot higher compared to the P17.359 trillion forecast for 2025 and the P16.05 trillion logged at end-2024.
The sad thing is the ballooning debt of the government comes at a time when alleged massive corruption is being uncovered in government-funded flood projects, with no less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. being very vocal on the issue.
The failure of numerous flood control projects came to light during the successive storms that hit the country in the latter part of 2024. The perception that there is alleged massive corruption in flood projects was magnified days prior to the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of Marcos, as the storms that visited the archipelago caused flooding anew in many parts.
Marcos did one thing that perhaps nobody expected in his latest SONA, calling out those who have benefitted from corruption in flood control projects.
“Mahiya naman kayo sa mga kabahayan natingnaanod o nalubog sa mga pagbaha. Mahiya kayo lalo na sa mga anak natin na magmamana ng mga utang na ginawa ninyo na binulsa nyo langang pera (Be ashamed of those whose homes were washed away, or submerged in the floods, especially to our children who will inherit the debts you incurred only to pocket funds),” he declared.
Marcos has disclosed that about 20 percent of flood control projects worth P100 billion went to only 15 contractors, with allegations flying a number were close or actually owned by top lawmakers.
30-PERCENT KICKBACKS
The flood control budget for this year is around P350 billion and P244 billion for 2024. On the other hand, the flood control budget for the whole of the Aquino administration was P182 billion.
Anti-corruption crusader and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong alleged that only 30 percent of the actual budget allocated for infrastructure works are spent on real works, and that amounts to P105 billion for flood projects this year.
He alleged that 30 to 40 percent of the cost or price of infrastructure projects goes to the pockets of lawmakers, and this may range from P105 billion to P122 billion.
To put those amounts in context, the overall budget of the Department of Agriculture in the past two years is P155.6 billion in 2025, and a proposed P176.7 billion for 2026. And many farmers remain poor or part of the country’s poorest of the poor.
Due to the public and social media outrage over failed or faulty flood projects, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said that the flood control budget next year will be slashed to P275 billion.
She added that the government was aware of failed or faulty flood projects, resulting in billions wasted.
“We do not want a repeat of what happened during the past storms when most areas in the country turned into swimming pools due to the deep floods, and some cars ended up like submarines. This caused a lot of inconvenience to our fellow Filipinos,” she said in a recent media interview.
“The funds we allocate in our national budget should not be imaginary or left idle. They should be visible, functional, felt, and truly helpful to our fellow citizens,” Pangandaman added.
However, utilizing properly funds allocated for flood control may not be felt in the next months when powerful storms are set to visit the Philippines anew.
THE DEBT ISSUE
Meanwhile, paying the government’s ballooning debt stock is proving to be a headache, with a total of P2.01 trillion allocated next year for debt payments. And this is unforgivable given alleged massive corruption in government flood projects.
Nearly half of that amount or P950 billion is projected to be budgeted for interest payments, with P707.5 billion for domestic debt and P242.5 billion for foreign obligations.
For principal amortization, P1.06 trillion has been planned, which is lower compared to the P1.21 trillion this year. About P889.3 billion be for domestic debt while P166.3 billion will be for external debt.
While the government says its debt stock is “manageable” at P16.75 trillion as of end-April, it is obvious that debt servicing amounting to the trillions of pesos can result in lesser delivery of social services and development projects for the Filipino people.
Furthermore, less development projects means more areas drowning in floods when storms strike the archipelago, as flood control projects is not the only solution to control flooding. Other projects such as permanently relocating residents from flood-prone areas and providing them housing should also be funded adequately.
And things can get worse if flood project funds just flood the pockets of corrupt officials and contractors.
“The funds we allocate in our national budget should not be imaginary or left idle. They should be visible, functional, felt, and truly helpful to our fellow citizens,” said Budget Secretary AmenahPangandaman.
