'Klepto-pirosis': Billions in flood control funds allegedly stolen

Flooding and leptospirosis surges have been major issues in the Philippines over the last few weeks.

Independent Health Reform Advocate Dr. Tony Leachon said the country is having a case of “Klepto-pirosis,” because the billions of funds meant for flood control projects were allegedly stolen by corrupt politicians.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. released a list of 15 large contractors lat cornered around P100 billion worth of flood control projects, which is about 20% of the total P545 billion budget.

On Tuesday, the 15 contractors were called by the Senate, but only seven attended.

Then on Wednesday, Senator Panfilo Lacson gave a much-awaited privilege speech, and revealed how flood control projects in La Union, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Oriental Mindoro were substandard.

In Oriental Mindoro, nine dikes collapsed, including one in Bongabong that cost P217 million. The overall cost is P1.9 billion.

Governor Bonz Dolor said “Kung may kontratista ritong palpak at hindi sumunod sa specifications, bukod sa ma-bar ito, bukod sa masuspinde, dapat ito, tama na. Huwag nang bibigyan ng proyekto!”

[“If there's a contractor here who is incompetent and fails to follow specifications, in addition to being barred and suspended, they should no longer be given projects.”]

Mayor Mike Malaluan said, “Yung mga flood control projects po na nasabi na may nasira, ay ongoing naman na po yung hindi pa po tapos ‘yung proyekto na iba at ina-apply na rin po namin meron po kasing warranty ang mga proyekto kung saan dapat one year may retention ng pondo sa contractor at meron pong five years na warranty period para ayusin po ‘yung mga nasira na proyekto.”

[“Regarding the flood control projects reported as damaged, some are still ongoing and not yet completed. We are also enforcing the warranty, since the projects have one. This includes a one-year fund retention from the contractor and a five-year warranty period to address any defects.”]

Malaluan added that they trust the DPWH, but they would call them out should they see the deficiency of the projects.

One of the attendees of Senator Lacson’s speech is Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who is also the lead convenor of the Mayors for Good Governance (M4GG).

Mayor Magalong previously revealed several anomalies in the DPWH in the allegedly overpriced equipment for roads like cat’s eyes or reflector lights, barriers, and anti-erosion rock netting in Cordillera Administrative Region.

The price of rock netting, according to Magalong, is P6,000 per square meter. However, the DPWH listed P25,000 in 2023.

The rock netting funds from 2017 to 2023 in the Cordilleras would be P46.61 billion.

Magalong’s estimate says P28 billion went to the kickback.

According to Magalong on “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho,” he discovered this after asking for data from the DPWH.

“Nilalaro ako, pinapaikot ako. Minsan nga nag-request na ako through the Regional Development Council, very strong na dapat ‘yun e, na to compel DPWH to provide me documents, ‘yung mga contracts.”

[“They're just giving me the runaround. I even filed a request through the Regional Development Council— which should have carried significant weight— to compel the DPWH to release the documents, specifically the contracts.”]

The department gave him a link. After a week of clicking, they were not able to discover anything.

“So kinausap ko 'yung NEDA to conduct a study, doon namin nabisto na ang tindi pala. Sa bawat square meter pala ng rock netting na 'yun, iba-iba klase kasing system, may offensive, may active passive,” he said.

[“I asked NEDA to conduct a study, and that's when we realized how serious the issue was. It turns out that for every square meter of that rock netting, there are different systems involved, such as ‘offensive’ and ‘active passive’.”]

“Average 4,300 lang pala square meter, may profit 'yung contractor, lumalabas 25,000 square meters according to that study ng NEDA, talagang empirical data 'yun. So ang laki pala eh,” Magalong added.

[“It turns out the average cost is only P4,300 per square meter, and the contractor can still make a profit. But according to that NEDA study—which is based on empirical data—the figure jumps to 25,000 per square meter, which is huge.”]

“Billions 'yung tinignan namin ngayon, how much money was spent in the Cordillera because it has been done in the entire Philippines doon. P46.6 billion since 2017. Tapos nakausap ko 'yung isang contractor, sabi niya, ‘Sir, pagod na kami kadedeliver ng pera sa kanila.’ ‘Magkano ba kinukuha sa iyo?’ ’40 percent.’"

[“We are now looking into the billions that were spent in the Cordillera, similar to what has been happening in the rest of the Philippines. Since 2017, P46.6 billion has already been spent. I then spoke with a contractor who told me, ‘Sir, we're tired of delivering money to them.’ When I asked how much was being taken, he said, ‘40 percent’.”]

Magalong said the contractor mentioned that lawmakers are also the suppliers and main contractors.

Meanwhile, Magalong said they were shocked at how many cats’ eyes (retroreflective safety device) no longer functioned and had uneven distances.

“And then finally, nagtanong ako, ‘Magkano ba ‘yan?’ May nakuha akong detailed unit price analysis, lumalabas na P11,720 per piece. So what I did was to get in touch with a similar supplier na accredited din ng DPWH.”

[“And then finally, I asked, "How much does that cost?" I was able to obtain a detailed unit price analysis, and it showed a price of P11,720 per piece. So I got in touch with a similar supplier who is also accredited by the DPWH.”]

The quotation given to him was P1,350 for the item, P700 for the installation, and P246 for the tax.

Magalong said the installation was too expensive, and then learned that it is only priced at P200. The P500 was given “for the boys kasi ‘di sila binibigyan ng mga politiko.” [“for the boys, supposedly because they don’t receive money from politicians.”]

“So sabi ko, ‘Ah kaya pala ang laki-laki ng porsyento nila.’ So, 11,720 minus 1,800. Can you just imagine? P9,900 pala ang bawat piraso ang mark-up. So ilang millions, million pieces ang binili rito sa buong bansa. Millions and millions of pieces.”

[“So I said, ‘Ah, so that's why their percentage is so huge.’ So, 11,720 minus 1,800. Can you just imagine? The markup turns out to be P9,900 per piece. Think of how many millions, millions of pieces were bought throughout the entire country. Millions and millions of pieces.”]

Magalong’s computation alleged that P9.8 billion was stolen.

“At nakaka-insulto na, ‘Sige, lagyan na natin 'yan. Hindi naman nakaka-intindi ang mga Pilipino diyan.’ Parang gano'n eh na nakaka-insulto naman kayo.”

[“And it's insulting when they say, ‘Let's just put it there. The Filipinos won't even understand it anyway’ That kind of attitude is truly offensive.”]

Magalong also investigated the amount each official received. He said that only 30 percent goes to the actual cost of a project.

“Average kasi lumalabas na mga 40-45. Pero wala pa 'yung profit ng contractor. Forty, 45. So, tanggalin mo ‘yung profit ng contractor. Sabihin mo, nag-impose siya ng 15 percent, 30% percent na lang maiwan. ‘Yun ‘yung 30 percent na gagamitin niya.

“So, ang tanong ko sa kanya, ‘How will you be able to execute it? Di ba? Paano ma-ensure na quality yan?’"

[“It turns out the average kickback is around 40 to 45 percent, and that doesn't even include the contractor's profit yet. So, if you deduct, say, 15 percent for the contractor’s margin, only about 30 percent is left. That’s the portion actually spent on the project. So I asked him, ‘How will you be able to execute it? How can you ensure its quality?”]

Magalong said that he was told that the project would be forced to be substandard.

In simpler terms, in every P100 the government puts into a project, only P30 would be used for the construction, with seven percent to the tax and one percent to the bond. With this, almost 60 percent of the money is stolen.

“Some of them are stealing 1 billion a year. More than. And if you're stealing 1 billion a year, you're stealing 2.7 million a day,” Magalong said.

Aside from speaking up on the issue, Magalong spoke to DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan in 2022.

“Dala akong ganito kakapal na dokumento. Sabi ko, ‘Secretary ito 'yung mga substandard na project. Please, take out your district engineer. Kasi ilang beses ko na siya sinabihan, wala pa rin.’"

[I brought a stack of documents this thick. I told the Secretary, ‘These are the substandard projects. Please remove your district engineer.’ I've already told him multiple times, but he still hasn't done anything.”]

Magalong said that he is disappointed with the corruption.

“Masama ang loob mo because we're out in the field, kita namin 'yung poverty. We have visited villages na talagang hirap ang mga tao. Hanggang ngayon, 'di ba? Magkano lang kinikita ng mga vendors? P400, P300. Taxi driver, P600, P700. Jeepney drivers, ganun din. Nagbabayad pa sila ng tax,” he said.

["You get frustrated because we're out in the field, and we see poverty firsthand. We have visited villages where the people are truly suffering. Even now, right? How little do vendors earn? P400, P300. Taxi drivers, P600, P700. Jeepney drivers, the same. And they even pay taxes.”]

“Itong mga tao na ito, isipin mo walang binabayarang tax sa bawat ninakaw nila. Utang tayo nang utang. Bulsa lang nang bulsa. Pumapalakpak nga sila tuwing may utang e. Umuutang tayo. Pumapalakpak sila lalo. Kasi tuwang-tuwa sila, ‘Mayroon na naman kami...’ At ang masama nito, ‘yung kanilang kasakiman, greed. Walang hangganan. Tuloy, tuloy, tuloy, tuloy.”

[“Imagine, these people don't pay a single centavo in taxes for everything they steal. We keep getting into more and more debt, while they just keep pocketing the money. They even cheer every time there’s a new loan. We borrow, and they cheer even more. Because they are so happy, thinking, 'We get more again...' And the worst part is their greed. It knows no bounds. It just goes on and on and on.”]

He added, “May joke pa nga d’yan na ‘sarado po ang opisina pero bukas po ang tanggapan.’"

[“There’s even a joke about it: ‘The office is closed, but the receiving area is open.”]

Magalong added that the 2025 budget for the Philippines was manipulated.

“Mga 20 percent of the total budget. Tiningnan nga namin 'yung budget eh. Nag-drill down kami, kasama namin ‘yung grupo ng National Budget Coalition. Nakita nila kung papaano talaga mina-nipulate, minasaker ‘yung 2025 budget. And previous budget, dahan-dahan nila minanipulate para lang talagang ma-satisfy 'yung ilalagay nilang mga insertions at ‘yung mga pork barrels.”

[“About 20 percent of the total budget was manipulated. We really examined the numbers. Together with the National Budget Coalition group, we did a deep dive into the 2025 budget. What we found was that it had been heavily manipulated and ‘massacred’. In fact, even in previous years, the budgets had been slowly altered to make room for insertions and pork barrel funds.”]

He added, “‘Pag pinakita mo 'yung numbers kung magkano at ninakaw pa tapos anong magagawa ng mga numbers na ito? You can build 4,754 classrooms, school buildings at 50 million.”

[“If you saw how much was stolen, you’d ask yourself– what could have been done with that money? For just P50 million, you could already build 4,754 classrooms and school buildings.”]

Magalong said 474 hospitals could be built with the cats’ eyes budget, or 95,000 classrooms.

“Isipin mo every year nag-iisip kami, paano na naman ito? Kulang na naman ang classroom, sira-sira na naman upuan. Aayusin na naman namin 'yung mga school buildings. Kawawa na naman itong mga estudyante. 'Yun pala, pinagbubulsa lang ng mga corrupt na politiko. Manggigigil ka talaga.”

[“Every year it’s the same story: we don’t have enough classrooms, the chairs are broken, the buildings need repairs, and the students are forced to endure poor conditions. And all this time, it turns out the money was being pocketed by corrupt politicians. It really makes you want to clench your fists in anger.”]

Mayor Magalong also said that he feels redemption at the exposure of corruption.

“Alam mo kasi Jessica nu’ng una, walang naniniwala eh. Binabanatan ako. I was subjected to character demolition, lalo na nu’ng election. Alam mo, I spent half of my time sa mga caucuses explaining the lies. At nakakalungkot isipin. And then I had the chance to talk to distinguished personalities, businessmen, at mga religious sector,” he said.

[“You know, Jessica, at first, no one believed me. I was heavily criticized and subjected to character assassination, especially during the election. I spent half of my time in the caucuses just explaining the lies spread about me– and that’s really sad. But eventually, I had the chance to speak with respected personalities, businessmen, and members of the religious sector.“

He added that he does not fear for his life after the revelations.

“Well, mabigat na laban ito. It's extremely challenging and at the same time dangerous as well. Of course, I fear for the safety of my family. Not so much sa akin. Galing naman tayo sa ganyan, sa giyera.”

[“This is a difficult fight. It's extremely challenging and at the same time, dangerous. Naturally, I fear for the safety of my family, not so much for myself. I've been through situations like this before, even during times of war.”]

Despite the corruption, Magalong still has hope for the Philippines.

As politicians, it's about time na talagang embrace namin ‘yung real essence of public service. At tama na, tama na. Mahiya na po tayo.”

[He began the call to action, telling us, ‘You should be ashamed.’ As politicians, it's about time that we embrace the true essence of public service. Enough is enough. We should all be ashamed.”] —Nika Roque/JCB/MGP, GMA Integrated News