DPWH admits lack of monitoring on 'inserted' flood control projects

The Department of Public Works and Highways admitted Wednesday that it has no monitoring system in place for some flood control projects—specifically those inserted by lawmakers into the national budget without undergoing technical vetting.

DPWH Secretary Manuel “Manny” Bonoan said the agency is seeing some of the projects for the first time only after they appear in the final version of the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

“That will be the first time we will be seeing ang mga projects na ito kapag nailagay na po sa General Appropriations Act,” Bonoan said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(That’s the first time we see these projects—when they’re already in the final national budget.)

“Wala po [monitoring] because we are not part of the bicameral conference committee,” he added.

(There’s no monitoring, because we’re not part of the bicameral committee.)

Despite this, the DPWH is still expected to implement these projects—often with delays, due to the lack of prior validation, feasibility studies, or engineering assessments. 

“Kami na rin po mag-iimplement (we will be the ones to implement) pero it will take some time to do assessments and validations,” Bonoan said.

From 2023 to 2025, the DPWH received around P980.25 billion in funding for flood control—an average of P326.75 billion per year, based on data from GMA Integrated News Research.

During his fourth State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the DPWH to submit a full list of all completed and ongoing flood control projects. The directive aims to identify delays, assess performance, and flag any possible ghost projects.

“I have ordered a comprehensive audit of all the projects that have been completed or are being implemented right now,” Bonoan said.

The department will also submit each project’s current status, including those still under construction and those that remain inactive.

Insertions bypass DPWH checks

The DPWH clarified that only projects included in the executive’s National Expenditure Program (NEP) go through its regular validation process. Many flood control projects, however, are inserted into the national budget by lawmakers during bicameral deliberations—without DPWH involvement.

“Yung mga new items na hindi dumaan sa amin initially sa pagba-validate,” Bonoan said.

(Those new items didn’t go through us for initial validation.)

He added the last-minute insertions often cause delays, especially when they involve right-of-way issues or affect existing communities. The lack of preparation and reduced funding for engineering work further slow down implementation.

“Ang mga budget po namin (Our budget) for project preparations and engineering activities have been drastically deleted,” he said.

Last December, Marcos vetoed P16.72 billion worth of DPWH flood control items in the 2025 national budget. He emphasized that only projects included in the NEP will be supported moving forward.

This aligns with long-standing concerns from watchdog groups and auditors, who flagged delays in several high-profile, foreign-assisted flood mitigation efforts in recent years—including projects in Metro Manila, Cavite, and Cagayan de Oro.

While the DPWH uses a project monitoring application to track officially vetted projects, Bonoan acknowledged that the same level of oversight does not exist for inserted items. —AOL, GMA Integrated News