Win Gatchalian: Zero budget for flood control if system not fixed

Senate finance committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday said that no budget will be allocated for flood control projects next year if the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will not be able to fix its system in addressing the country’s perennial flooding problem.

Gatchalian also shared the view that there are syndicates behind the anomalous flood control projects, emphasizing that they will just continue abusing the system if the processes are lenient.  

“For 2026, hindi na kami papayag niyan… Ise-zero na lang namin ‘yung budget kung hindi maaayos ‘yung sistema. Dahil kung lalagyan mo ng pondo tapos ganyan pa rin, nandiyan pa rin ‘yung sindikato, nandiyan pa rin ‘yung contractor, parang tuloy ligaya lang ‘yung mangyayari,” the senator said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview. 

(For 2026, we will no longer allow that... We will allocate zero budget if the system is not fixed. Because if we allocate funds and the system is still like that, the syndicates and suspicious contractors will still be there.) 

“So kung hindi aayusin ng DPWH ‘yan, isi-zero namin ‘yung flood control projects,” he added. 

(If the DPWH doesn't fix that, we will give zero budget for the flood control projects.) 

Gatchalian further stressed that he wants the master plan for flood control projects be funded in a bid to solve the longstanding problem. 

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman earlier said that the proposed budget for the flood control projects under 2026 National Expenditure Program stands at P274.926 billion. 

This amount was lower compared with the about P350-billion earmarked in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

The proposed P274.9-billion allocation for flood control projects was divided between the Department of Public Works (DPWH), which will receive the bulk of the allocation at P272.333 billion, and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) with P2.593 billion.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, meanwhile, believes that “heads must roll” amid the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s investigation into the anomalous flood control projects. 

“Basta ako, ang paniniwala ko, hindi magpo-prosper ang isang ghost project kung walang cooperation ng COA (Commission on Audit),” Estrada said. 

(I believe that a ghost project will not prosper without cooperation with the COA.)

During the committee’s initial public hearing on Tuesday, DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan revealed that there may be "ghost" flood control projects worth P5.9 billion that mar some areas in Bulacan.

Should Bonoan resign?

Amid the controversy, Gatchalian said that Bonoan should voluntarily leave his post as DPWH chief “out of delicadeza.”

“Para makita talaga kung ano ang tunay na nangyayari sa loob at sino ang mga sangkot dito dahil nga hindi lang naman ito nangyari ngayon,” he said. 

(This is so we can really see what's really going on inside and identify who's involved because this didn't just happen now.) 

For Estrada, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. still has the prerogative to decide on the matter. He also floated the responsibility that Bonoan might have no idea of what’s really happening on the ground. 

“Honestly or frankly speaking, baka hindi rin alam ni Secretary ’yan. In fairness to Secretary Bonoan, I am not defending him, in factI asked a lot of questions thrown to him yesterday, I’m not defending him, pero baka hindi lang nalalaman ni Secretary Bonoan ‘yung mga nangyayari sa baba,” the Senate President Pro Tempore said. 

(Honestly or frankly speaking, maybe the Secretary doesn't also know what’s happening on the ground. I'm not defending him, in fact I asked him a lot of questions during the hearing.) 

“So, hindi naman niya mamomonitor ’yan eh. Kaya lang, ang problema niya, command responsibility. That is his responsibility as Secretary of the department,” he added. 

(Maybe he wasn’t able to monitor the grounds. The problem is, he has a command responsibility. That is his responsibility as Secretary of the department.) 

Bonoan on Wednesday said he will leave the decision to the President if he needs to take a leave of absence amid the probe into the alleged corruption in flood control projects.

He also said that officials of district engineering offices involved in alleged corruption in flood control projects have been removed from their positions. — RF, GMA Integrated News