On flood control, DPWH admits no marked coordination with DENR body

Secretary Manuel Bonoan said on Tuesday that there is currently no significant coordination between the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the River Basin Control Office (RBCO) in relation to the development of a master plan for flood control projects.

Bonoan admitted this when asked by Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairman Rodante Marcoleta if any of the DPWH’s district engineers or regional district offices have coordinated with the RBCO—an attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)—regarding the flood control master plan. 

“Unfortunately, Your Honor, this is one of the challenges we have to face... I admit, Mr. Chairman, that we have not had any significant coordination at this point in time,” the DPWH chief said during the hearing on the alleged anomalous flood control projects.

The RBCO, which was created through Executive Order No. 510 in 2006, is responsible for developing a national master plan for flood control together with the DPWH and other agencies by integrating the various existing river basin projects and developing additional plan components as needed. 

Marcoleta said that the DPWH “started on the wrong foot” by not coordinating with the RBCO. 

“Kumbaga, ‘yun pala ang pinaka-susi ng lahat ng ito. Gawa na kayo nang gawa projects, DPWH. DBM, bigay naman kayo nang bigay ng pondo, pero ‘yung opisina na merong pananagutan, nai-integrate, i-konekta lahat ng inyong ginagawang flood control, natutulog pala. Hindi pala niyo kinokonsulta, ni hindi pala kayo magkakakikilala,” Marcoleta said. 

(Apparently, that is the key to all of this. DPWH, you are working on all these projects. DBM, you just keep on giving funds, but the office that is responsible for integrating and connecting everything regarding flood control is not working. You don't consult one another; you don't even know each other.) 

“So talagang walang mangyayari sa lahat ng projects. Dito po, matibay na ang kawalan niyo ng coordination dito,” the senator added. 

(Nothing will really happen in all these projects. Your lack of coordination is really evident here.) 

Bonoan's predecessor, Senator Mark Villar, emphasized the importance of master plans and funding for their implementation.

“Base sa karanasan ko bilang Secretary ng Public Works, napaka-importante po ang master planning sa flood control kasi pwede mong ayusin ang isang section at bibilis ang daloy ng tubig. Pero pagdating sa ibang section na walang flood control, maiipon ang tubig at mas lalala ang baha sa ibang areas,” Villar said.

(Based on my experience as DPWH secretary, master planning is very important in flood control because through it, you can fix an affected section and the flow of water will ease. But the water will accumulate and the flood will worsen in other areas that have no flood control.)

“So napaka-importante na magkaroon tayo at suportahan natin ang mga master plan ng flood control projects. And there are master plans. I’m aware; may mga master plan talaga sa DPWH. Some of them are foreign-funded master plans, and some of them are each water basin na may master plan,” he added.

(So it is very important that we come together and support the master plan for flood control projects. And there are master plans. I'm aware there are master plans in the DPWH. Some of them are foreign-funded master plans, and some of them are master plans of each water basin.)

Villar, who served as DPWH chief during the Duterte administration, also called for more accountability measures to prevent substandard flood control projects.

“Nung nagkaron ng inspection si President Marcos, may nakita siyang mga substandard. ‘Yun ang kailangan natin solusyonan sa lalong madaling panahon dahil that is very unacceptable that we have substandard projects,” he said.

(When President Marcos did an inspection, he found substandard projects. That is what we need to solve as soon as possible because it is very unacceptable that we have substandard projects.)

Between July 2022 and May 2025, the DPWH recorded 9,855 completed flood control projects, according to Bonoan. He said 3,709 completed projects worth P183 billion began construction as early as 2020 and 2021.

Marcoleta also noted during the hearing that based on the report submitted by the Senate Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office, the actual budget for flood control projects between July 2022 and May 2025 was P849 billion.

“We recognize the concern raised by the President…last Monday that while thousands of projects are reflected as completed, our citizens continue to experience recurring flooding. This is not a contradiction but a call for deeper accountability,” he added.

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. earlier disclosed that 20% of the P545-billion budget for flood control projects was awarded to only 15 contractors.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) last month, the President vowed that those involved in anomalous flood control projects would be held accountable. –VBL, GMA Integrated News