Lacson: P1 trillion flood control funds ‘may have ended up in some people’s pockets’

National

SENATOR Panfilo “Ping” Lacson has raised serious concerns over the possible misuse of funds in the government’s flood control program, claiming that nearly half of the P2 trillion allocated since 2011 may have been lost to corruption.

“Isn’t it absurd that the rise of floodwaters in our country is directly proportional to the increase in the annual budget for the national government’s flood management program?” Lacson said in an interview with dzBB on Sunday, July 27, as per a report by Inquirer.net.

Citing data and computations, Lacson questioned the effectiveness of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood management efforts. He argued that with a P2-trillion budget over 15 years—an average daily expense of around P350 million—a dredging machine could have been purchased every day.

“At $5 million or P285 million with the current peso-dollar exchange rate, we can actually buy one dredging machine every day and use part of the excess of P65 million for operating expenses and maintenance,” he noted.

Lacson further pointed out questionable budget allocations in the 2025 proposed budget, such as a small barangay in Oriental Mindoro receiving P1.9 billion and a nearby town receiving P10 billion. “So much funds are wasted,” he said.

“We also cannot discount that of the P2 trillion in allocations, P1 trillion may have ended up in some people’s pockets.”

He said he expects President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to tackle the worsening flood problem in his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

Lacson, on the other hand, plans to address the issue in a privilege speech or during budget deliberations, particularly when the DPWH or Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) is under scrutiny.

“The scrutiny of public funds, including confidential and intelligence funds, must continue,” he added. “Even if the amount being questioned is just P10, it is still public funds.”(Edmie Rocsan, UV Comm Intern)