After P1.9 trillion in flood spending, Lacson demands a master plan

National

Sen. Panfilo Lacson is pressing the government to explain whether its massive flood control spending is guided by a clear and coordinated plan.

Lacson raised the issue as heavy southwest monsoon rains again inundated parts of Metro Manila, citing P1.939 trillion spent by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on flood control management from 2011 to 2025.

“P1.939 trillion funded the DPWH flood control management program under three presidents from 2011-2025, and the result is uncontrolled flood,” Lacson said in a Philstar report.

Citing spending data from the administrations of Benigno Aquino III, Rodrigo Duterte and Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Lacson noted that flood management allocations climbed from P11.323 billion in 2011 to P81.223 billion in 2017. Funding breached P100 billion in 2018 at P139.001 billion and remained above P116 billion through 2022.

Allocations then surged to P287.018 billion in 2023, P346.771 billion in 2024 and P372.814 billion in 2025.

Lacson said the 15-year spending amounted to roughly P350 million a day.

He warned that the P107.4 billion earmarked for flood control in the proposed 2027 national budget could also be wasted without an integrated master plan. He plans to raise the issue during the upcoming Development Budget Coordination Committee briefing, including how the proposed allocation would be used and whether an overall program exists.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon agreed on the need for a comprehensive plan, saying the government needs a coordinated approach to flood management.

“We really need a master plan because we cannot just wait, we have to do something,” Dizon said in the same article.

Dizon said an updated flood control master plan is expected to be completed this year. The original plan was approved in 2012 during the Aquino administration.(MyTVCebu)