Chiz Escudero wants flood control budget slashed

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero over the weekend said the P250.8-billion budget for flood control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for next year should be slashed, saying this will reduce the possibility of corruption within the agency.

According to Escudero, the budget for flood control projects accounts for a third of the entire DPWH budget and is 20 times larger than that set for the construction of new school buildings.

“Thirteen billion pesos lang ang para sa mga bagong classrooms tapos baha ang pondo para sa flood control. Mas malaki pa kaysa pondo para sa mga bagong kalye at limang beses ang laki ng pondo kaysa pagpapagawa ng bagong tulay,” he said in a statement.

(The budget for new classrooms is only P13 billion, while there’s a flood of funds for flood control. It’s even bigger than the budget for new roads and five times larger than the funds for building new bridges.)

“If we let this stand as it is, this budget will be deluged with criticism,” he added.

Moving forward, Escudero said the country should wait for the flood control master plan funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and that funds should instead be channeled into health, education, and food protection.

“Mas praktikal at makabubuti na tapyasan na muna ang pondong ilalaan para flood control at ibuhos ito sa mga sektor ng edukasyon, kalusugan, at produksyon ng pagkain habang hinihintay natin ang ADB-funded flood control master plan,” Escudero said.

“Ang pagbabawas ng pondo sa DPWH ay pagbabawas din ng posibilidad ng korapsyon,” he added.

(It would be more practical and beneficial to first reduce the funds to be allocated for flood control and channel them instead to the sectors of education, health, and food production while we await the ADB-funded flood control master plan.

(Cutting the budget of the DPWH also reduces the possibility of corruption.)

Escudero, along with Senators Joel Villanueva and Christopher “Bong” Go were earlier found to have connections with contractors, based on findings of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).

He admitted that Lawrence Lubiano, president of Centerways Construction and Development Inc., had donated P30 million to his senatorial campaign in 2022, as declared in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE).

Lubiano's company was one of the 15 firms identified by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to have cornered 20% of contracts for flood control projects. 

During his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July, Marcos Jr. warned government personnel who steal public funds—such as those for flood control projects—to have some shame.

Escudero, for his part, denied that he intervened in any contract with the government. Villanueva and Go also made similar denials involving their supposed connection to the flood control projects.

Moving forward, Escudero said the DPWH budget should shrink the flood control funds to the required minimum, and recast these to places that are at risk when the rains come.

“The development impact of the budget has been clearly diluted by this irrational bias for flood control. If budgeting is the smart application of scarce resources to where they can make the greatest good for the greatest number of people, then why are we allowing a program that creates the least impact corner much of the funds?” he said.

“I encourage DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon to explore possible partnerships with various LGUs and private sector with respect to cleaning our rivers, particularly in Metro Manila, while all public infrastructure projects are under review,” he added. — BM, GMA Integrated News