PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday said some corporations and contractors involved in failed or “ghost” flood control projects will be held accountable and blacklisted.
He said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has submitted a list and details of flood control projects implemented nationwide under his term, or in the past three years, in response to a directive he issued during his fourth state of the nation address (SONA) last week.
Aside from reviewing the flood control projects, Marcos also asked the DPWH and the Regional Project Monitoring Committee to identify which of these have failed or do not exist.
“We already have some names that are coming up, that will be – first of all, corporations … some contractors that did not do a good job,” Marcos said in mixed English and Filipino in the first part of the “BBM Podcast Episode 3: Sa Likod ng SONA” that was released yesterday. He did not identify the firms and contractors.
“So, we will put them on a blacklist. Hindi na sila pwedeng magkontrata sa gobyerno. (They can no longer get a contract with the government),” he also said.
The President said the companies will be required to explain how they used funds allotted for the projects, and if they fail to explain properly, “we will have to take it to the next step.”
Marcos reiterated he would make the list public as soon as the review and investigations are completed.
“They have to be told who is responsible and somebody has to answer for their suffering,” he said.
The President urged those who have witnessed irregularities in flood control projects in their areas to provide information and assist the government in its probe.
He assured the public the DPWH is not involved in the investigations because some of the projects involved the department.
In the SONA, Marcos said there are people in government who are involved in irregularities, like those who received kickbacks and “for the boys,” or pocketed public funds.
Without naming names, he reiterated that some of those involved in the irregularities are “notorious” and have been at it for years.
“They know who they are,” he said.
The President said he personally saw failed flood control projects, and was made aware of ghost projects, when he visited flooded areas and evacuation centers after the onslaught of three tropical cyclones and the southwest monsoon last month.
Marcos said he would see reports that say the projects are completed but during inspection, they turned out to be non-existent.
He said it proves the firms or contractors never did their jobs.
“Mayroong dapat naman managot dahil sa dinadaanan na hirap, na dinadanas ng ating mga kababayan (Someone should be held responsible for the suffering of the people). They have to be told who is responsible and somebody has to answer for their suffering,” Marcos said.
Marcos reiterated no one would be spared in the probe, even if they are allies of the administration.
“Sorry na lang. Hindi na kita kaalyado kung ganyan ang ginagawa mo. Ayaw na kitang kaalyado (I’m sorry. You’re no longer my ally if you’re acting like that. I don’t want to be your ally anymore),” he added.
‘DON’T LOOK AT US’
Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan said it is the responsibility of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), not the DPWH, to manage floods in the National Capital Region (NCR), or Metro Manila, even if the DPWH is in charge of implementing flood control projects.
“Flood management in NCR is under the responsibility of the MMDA. It was taken out of the department long time ago,” he told the House Committee on Public Accounts during a briefing of the DPWH yesterday.
Bonoan evaded the question of panel chair Rep. Terry Ridon (PL, Ako Bicol) who asked if his department is taking “full responsibility” for the massive floodings in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.
The secretary, who earlier said he was open to taking a leave of absence pending the review of the flood control projects, said the DPWH is set to submit next week to the President a list of 9,856 flood control projects that were completed from July 2022 to May 2025.
He said the list would contain the region, the implementing DPWH office, the legislative district, project name, contractor, approved project, cost, funding year and the project’s starting date and completion.
When Ridon, a lawyer, rephrased the question and asked if Bonoan believes the government’s flood control program has failed, Bonoan said engineering intervention is just part of the flood management issue and there is a need to take a “wholistic and integrated approach” to it.
Bonoan made the comments after congressmen led by Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice, blamed tons of solid wastes being dumped daily in Metro Manila, alone, for the massive floodings.
He said that while the MMDA should be at the forefront of flood-control in Metro Manila, the DPWH is on track to completing 32 pumping stations early next year, on top of big projects such as the Pasig-Marikina flood control program.
“This will be done in the next several years, this is why in Metro Manila there has been significant improvement (in some parts) particularly in the Marikina area,” Bonoan said.
SILTATION
Bonoan vowed to furnish Ridon’s panel a copy of the list of completed floor control programs, explaining that one of the greatest “challenges” that the department has been facing is the shallowness of the country’s riverbeds.
“The riverbeds along the rivers in this country are now very shallow. No matter how much structural intervention we do, if we do not address siltation, it will just backflow and these are the causes of floodings in main areas of the country now,” he said, citing the case of Laguna Lake.
Bonoan said the DPWH has been trying to address the siltation problem in Laguna Lake but the lack of budget to acquire dredging equipment Is a huge stumbling block in desiltation efforts.
“Sad to say, budgetary allocations did not materialize over the years,” he said, adding the DPWH will request the same budget again under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2026 that the Executive will submit to Congress.
‘PREPOSTEROUS’
Bonoan also denied social media claims that six lawmakers were able to corner P800 billion worth of flood control projects, calling the allegation “preposterous.”
“Well, I have gone through, actually, the political blogger that you’ve given me… and what I can say, we don’t have this kind of information at all in the department. To me, it’s a little preposterous, actually, to have something like this — P800 billion for six members of Congress,” Bonoan said.
He was reacting to printed copies of social media posts of a political blogger, which was brought to the committee’s attention by senior deputy speaker David Suarez, who strongly condemned spread of “disinformation.”
‘ANOMALOUS TRANSACTIONS’
Las Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos called for the immediate removal of a DPWH district engineer for alleged involvement in supposed questionable multi-million-peso flood control and infrastructure projects in his city.
In a press statement, Santos accused Isabelo Baleros, a district engineer of the Las Piñas-Muntinlupa District Engineering Office (LPM DEO), of involvement in “anomalous transactions involving irregular fund transfers, questionable project prioritization, and a blatant disregard for coordination with local government officials.”
Santos said the issue stemmed from the P140-million C5 Diversion Road project in Barangay Manuyo Dos, which he said is the single largest allocation from the P450.5 million total budget for the city’s infrastructure this year.
The neophyte lawmaker said that on June 9, 2025, Baleros wrote to DPWH-NCR assistant regional director Montrexis Tamayo “requesting that the implementing agency for several Las Piñas projects be transferred from his district office to the DPWH Regional Office-NCR.”
Santos said the request was approved by Public Works Assistant Secretary for Regional Operations Loreta Malaluan and confirmed by Bonoan on July 15, 2025 “without any consultation with the Office of the Mayor, the Office of the Congressional Representative, the City Engineering Office, or the Sangguniang Panlungsod.”
“This is a glaring act of bypassing local governance. How can you move hundreds of millions of pesos without informing the elected officials of the city? This reeks of backroom maneuvering,” he said.
Santos said that before any fund transfers occurred, “no visible progress or even initial work had been made on the C5 Diversion Road or the majority of the 27 projects listed under the FY 2025 General Appropriations Act (RA 12116).”
“The people of Las Piñas are asking: Was there even a single project completed before the funds were shifted? Or is this about moving money to where it can be controlled by a select few?” he said.
CONTRACTS
Senate President Francis Escudero filed a bill which seeks to expand the criteria for disqualifying relatives of public officials from entering into contracts with the government in a bid to insulate government contracts from undue influence.
Escudero said Senate Bill No. 783 proposes to disqualify relatives of public officials from the third degree of consanguinity or affinity to the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity to “eliminate potential avenues for corruption.”
At present, he said, RA 12009 or the New Government Procurement Act provides for the mandatory disclosure of relationship between the bidder and the head of procuring entity, members of the secretariat of the Bids and Awards Committee, technical working group, head of the Project Management Office, or the implementing unit, and project consultants, up to the third degree of consanguinity or affinity, and “automatically disqualifies the bidder related to such persons” from joining in procurement contracts.
“Despite the stringent provision, government contracts are still marred with irregularities that result in corruption and undermine the integrity of the procurement process and public service as a whole,” Escudero said in the bill’s explanatory note.
Under bill, the term “public official” will refer to heads of agency, heads of procuring entity, members of governing board, or any public officer or employee exercising policy-determining, supervisory, or managerial functions whether in the career or non-career service. This also include those in the military and uniformed personnel, whether or not they receive compensation, regardless of amount.
The term “government contract” refers to any contract between a private entity and any government agency or instrumentality, including government-owned and controlled corporations, and local government units, that pertains to supplies, materials, machinery, equipment, and services, infrastructure projects, joint ventures, public-private partnership projects, and other similar agreements or undertaking.
Projects that are highly technical, proprietary, or confidential in nature shall be exempted from this measure.
In a statement, Escudero said he filed the bill in response to Marcos’ SONA to eliminate conflicts of interest and reinforce integrity in public transactions. – With Wendell Vigilia and Raymond Africa
