FOR ONE, THE act of exposing the multibillion budget mess involving so-called flood control projects is an indication that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. really meant business.
But holding crooks criminally liable is another thing – so as the “congressional investigations in aid of legislation.”
It is satirical watching legislators behind the dubious budget insertions look into a mess which had their fingerprints. Self-professed analysts call it grandstanding. To some, it’s hypocrisy.
Taking cue from the long list of legislative inquiries, the congressional probe has been decimated into a recycle bin preying on hapless resource persons to cover up their mess — the insertions under the 2025 General Appropriations Act.
To paraphrase a biblical line — “Before judging another person’s splinter on the eyes, remove first the log that blocks your sight.
MISSING MASTER PLAN
The massive flooding in Metro Manila triggered the probe on the government’s flood control projects. Initial findings showed Metro Manila and its adjoining regions don’t have flood control master plans to begin with.
No less than DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan admitted that his predecessor — former Secretary Mark Villar (now a sitting senator) did not turn over a masterplan or road map on flood control when he took over.
But Villar said otherwise — “Meron pong mga master plan… I am aware may mga master plan talaga sa DPWH. Some are foreign-funded; each flood-water basin may master plan.”
True enough, there was one but the master plan Villar must be referring to is the one that was prepared by former DPWH chief Rogelio Singson who left a P351-billion flood control master plan. Singson was the DPWH chief from July 2010 to June 2016 under the Aquino administration.
BULACAN WORST HIT
Bulacan province, which got the biggest chunk of the budget insertion worked out by Senate President Chiz Escudero, was branded as the most notorious in flood control funding.
In a privilege speech, Senator Panfilo Lacson branded Bulacan as ground zero of flood control corruption, exposing ghost projects, recycled budgets, and substandard works.
Lacson’s team inspected several barangays in Malolos and Hagonoy, uncovering what he called a “standard for substandard” system in six barangays under the the Bulacan 1st Engineering District:
- Calero, Malolos – A ₱77M “riverbank protection” project was tagged completed in 2024, but the site only had a subdivision perimeter fence.
- Babatnin, Malolos – Another ₱77M dike, supposedly funded in 2024 by Darcy and Anna Builders is just a recycled 2018 structure repainted and re-tagged. Registered as a sole proprietorship with an address in Cardona, Rizal, the company’s supposed office turned out to be a gym and e-payment shop. No trace of construction business.
- Carillo, Hagonoy – A ₱77.199M project declared finished in April 2024 had no structure at all. “Hello, Darcy — and Anna, nasaan ang flood control?”
- Abulalas, Hagonoy – Another ₱77.199M project under Darcy and Anna yielded nothing but floodwaters. “Hindi niyo po talaga makikita. Guni-guni lang kasi ang flood control structure,” he said.
- Iba, Hagonoy – A ₱77.199M Wawao Builders project listed as completed in 2024 turned out to be an entirely different ₱92.5M project still being built by Ferdstar. Wawao is owned by Mark Allan Arevalo.
- San Nicolas, Hagonoy – A ₱77.199M Wawao Builders dike reported finished in 2023 showed no changes since 2017 on satellite images.
Lacson said the anomalies in Bulacan flood control projects followed a cookie-cutter pattern, with many contracts pegged at identical amounts — ₱72 million, ₱77 million, or other rounded figures — regardless of the project’s size or location.
MODERN PORK BARREL
“Distinct ang mga budget items. Para sa nakakaunawa, ang ibig sabihin po ay — ‘akin yan,’” Lacson said citing DPWH insiders who revealed that such figures were coded signals for padrinos controlling the projects.
In 2024 alone, the Bulacan 1st District listed 28 projects priced at exactly ₱72M each — which Lacson called the new face of pork-barrel politics.
Lacson alleged that a syndicate within the DPWH Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office orchestrated the scheme, padding records with ghost projects and using borrowed contractor licenses. He linked it to former district engineers Henry Alcantara and Brice Hernandez.
“Hindi ito kababalaghan. This is well-orchestrated by an organized network of people who abuse their power. Very DISTINCT — distinctly ghost projects,” said Lacson.