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PH flood control mess: May the monsoon rains always make us remember
Alam natin na ninanakawan tayo, pero ganito pala kalaki?
(We know some were pocketing our money, but didn’t realize it was this massive.)
Anybody could only gasp in disbelief at how it took a tragedy to uncover a man-made misery.
What is unfolding is perhaps the biggest corruption scandal since the pork barrel scam or the Priority Development Assistance Fund scandal of 2012.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon described as “petty change” the amount involved in the pork barrel scam compared to the hundreds of millions to billions in anomalous flood control projects.
It was brought to the fore by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. himself, when he warned officials and private contractors involved in the anomaly.
“Mahiya naman kayo (Shame on you),” he admonished during his fourth State of the Nation Address in July.
The testimonies in Congress have pried open an organized system of widespread corruption that has been going on under the cover of our own laws, namely the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
“We will file cases against all government officials across the country who will be found liable in this investigation, including the private contractors they were in cahoots with,” he said.
But running after those involved is as complicated as the system they are entrenched in and all the more made difficult by the sheer expanse of where the projects are.
Tasked to investigate the anomaly and recommend charges is the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), created by the President on September 11, with the DPWH helping with data gathering.
As of this writing, the ICI is 38 days into its investigation.
But the job at hand is heavy in both scope and deliverables.
Consider the data: the DPWH reported to the ICI that there are 238,200 infrastructure projects all over the country from 2016 to 2018. Of this, there are 29,800 flood control projects.
From the number, 8,000 flood control projects from 2018 to 2024 have already been validated by the police and soldiers on the ground, and 421 are suspected to be ghost flood control projects.
Luzon has the largest number of suspected ghost flood control projects with 261, Visayas with 109 and Mindanao with 51.
ICI Commissioner and former DPWH chief Rogelio Singson concedes the gargantuan task ahead of them.
“Marami pa rin ‘yun, we’re trying to narrow down and focus on priorities,” he said at the sidelines of the ICI’s visit with the Department of Interior and Local Government at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology detention facility in Quezon City on October 24.
Running after truth, literally
The ICI began its first hearing on September 19, away from the public eye.
Had it not been out of curiosity the night before, we would not have found out that private contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya was due to appear at the ICI the next day.
We headed to the Department of Energy (DOE) compound in Taguig the next day, inconspicuously in an unmarked vehicle.
I had been told prior that the ICI was holding office at the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), which was inside the complex so we more or less had an idea where to go.
“Meeting, sir?” the guard asked, perhaps assumingly, while noting the formal coat I was wearing.
“Opo, sir,” I muttered, trying to appear nonchalant, careful not to arouse any suspicion.
We were let through, and we parked in front of the CICC building and waited.
And one by one, from my vantage point in the crew cab where we were hiding from view, ICI Chairman Andres Reyes Jr. arrived, then ICI Commissioner Rogelio Singson, then Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who was then the ICI special adviser and investigator.
“Confirmed,” I told Julius Villarosa, our cameraman at that time. But we did not have a soundbite yet that could make our story stand.
I told my team to wait some more. But then our cover was blown, a guard came up to the crew cab and told us, interviews were not allowed.
“Huh, interview? Kanino? Sino may request? (With whom? Who requested?)” I answered, trying to buy us more time.
With nothing to lose, I got out of the crew cab, went up to the side of the building where I assumed they would be holding the hearing, and attempted to check for some activities. The area is now familiar to those following the ICI story as both an entry and exit point for resource persons who are trying to avoid the media.
Someone came up to me and asked if I had a permit. “I was just about to ask,” I said evasively. It didn’t work. I asked what office he was from, but he promptly shooed us away.
I went back to the crew cab, and a guard followed to advise us to get out of the compound. I attempted to delay to allow us to take some more videos by calling my boss. “Let’s pretend we’re talking so Julius could take some more videos,” I told her.
But soon the guard pleaded, “Sir, Ibigay mo na ‘to sa ‘kin. Ako mayayari (Let me have this one. I’ll be answerable for this),” he said.
“Kuya, tax natin ‘to (Sir, this concerns our taxes),” I tried to reason, emphasizing the importance of covering the ICI.
“Opo, sir, pero baka ako balikan (I know, sir, but they might get back at me),” he said while acknowledging my point.
We relented and exited the compound.
Luckily, the ICI building was visible from the street. So, we parked just across the road and across the fence where we could see any movement around the building.
Soon enough, we saw Mayor Magalong’s vehicle leaving the building. Quickly, we moved towards the gate to attempt to interview him. I was hoping he would remember me from the inspection the ICI had the day before.
I waved at his vehicle, hoping he would see me through the tint of his vehicle’s windows.
Then, luckily, he rolled down his windows.
“How are you, Mayor," I greeted him.
“Sir, nag-hearing kayo today? Sina Brice (former Bulacan Assistant District Engineer Hernandez) nga po?” I inquired.
“Yes. But ask the ICI, I’m not allowed to talk,” he said.
That’s all I needed: a confirmation. At that point, I already had an exclusive story until Malacañang announced that it was now allowing media coverage, albeit limited, as we would see later on.
One by one, reporters from various media organizations descended on the compound and it has since been a cat and mouse chase after resource persons, with one colleague describing it as “literally running after the truth.”
“Sold above, everybody happy”
Since that day, the ICI has invited nearly twenty individuals, including those implicated in the anomaly such as Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, Joel Villanueva, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, former Bulacan First District Engineers Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza.
The ICI has also called on former DPWH Sec. Manuel Bonoan, Usec. Roberto Bernardo, and Usec. Catalina Cabral.
Also invited were Senate President Vicente Sotto III, former Senate Blue Ribbon Committee head Sen. Panfilo Lacson, former Senate Finance Committee head Sen. Grace Poe, former Justice Secretary and now Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, DPWH Usec. Emil Sadain, and DTI Sec. Christina Roque.
But what has the ICI established so far?
Despite public clamor to open it, ICI hearings are off limits to media and information from the body is limited, provided only by its Executive Director Atty. Brian Hosaka and by resource persons who were willing to be interviewed.
Hosaka said they wanted to avoid trial by publicity and the hearings to be weaponized by individuals who may attempt to sow confusion to mislead the public and the investigation.
It was only recently that the ICI started giving out pictures and videos of the hearings, providing a shape and form (and a public record) to the investigation.
In a surprising move, the naturally reclusive Justice Reyes announced to the Senate Committee on Justice on October 23 that the commission would livestream its proceedings the following week, only to walk it back the next day by saying the commission had yet to draft its rules and procedures before it could commence live streaming.
“It would take some time,” he said, saying they needed to review how other courts were doing it.
But Reyes did offer a glimpse of what the ICI has so far discovered.
“The project is sold down the line. Somebody up will sell the project and they select the engineer and the contractor. Everybody happy,” he said, referring to flood control projects.
It perhaps offered an indication as to who would be charged eventually but Justice Reyes immediately dismissed queries by saying it was premature.
“We will make sure that our evidence is based on a fair assessment. We will observe due process. We will prosecute and not persecute,” he said.
Jail the corrupt, but where and who?
On October 24, cause-oriented groups stormed the DOE compound where the ICI is conducting its hearings to demand accountability.
Protesters attempted to breach the gates but were promptly prevented by security.
The protest action highlighted public sentiment to put behind bars those involved in the anomaly.
In response, Singson clarified that it was the Ombudsman who is mandated to file information before the anti-graft court, the Sandiganbayan and not the ICI.
“I know that our people, the taxpayers are very agitated kasi gusto nila may makulong agad. Sana maintindihan ng ating mga kababayan na ang ICI, hindi siya magpapakulong (They want to see people jailed. But we hope they understand that ICI can’t put people to jail),” he said.
What the ICI is mandated to do is to recommend charges to the Ombudsman, he said.
So far, it has referred one case involving a P290-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro on September 29.
It has recommended charges of graft, malversation and violation of the Government Procurement Act against eleven officials of the DPWH MIMAROPA led by its former Regional Director Engr. Gerald Panacan.
However, it stopped short of recommending charges against the founder of the contractor of the project, Sunwest Inc., former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co. who has since divested from the company in 2019 based on General Information Sheets (GIS) obtained by the ICI.
“Receipt of unwarranted benefits in relation to construction projects of Sunwest, conditioned upon further proof,” the ICI wrote in its recommendation in its first-ever Interim Report to the Ombudsman.
It has also left to the Ombudsman to determine the culpability of Sunwest president and chairman of the board of director Aderma Angelie Alcazar (likewise “conditioned recommendation” upon further proof of overt criminal acts), four of its officers and other officials of the company.
The latest GIS showing Co’s ownership was in 2019, where his ownership stake was at 8.5%.
“As of 26 May 2020, Cong. Co was no longer listed as a shareholder of the company in its General Information Sheet,” the ICI noted.
The DPWH and the Commission on Audit also filed a referral for four ghost projects in Bulacan involving contractors Wawao Builders, TopNotch Catalyst Builders, Inc., and One Frame Construction Inc.
Referrals filed at the Ombudsman will still have to undergo validation and then preliminary investigation before recommendations for charges can be filed before the Sandiganbayan, a necessary legal process but one which may not meet the public’s call for immediate accountability.
What can move faster are complaints already vetted by submitting agencies such as the DPWH.
Prior to the creation of the ICI, the DPWH headed by Dizon had already moved and filed a complaint against 20 Public Works officials and five contractors for P249-million worth of ghost flood control in five cities in Bulacan province on September 11.
In that complaint, charged for graft and malversation of public funds were former DPWH 1st District Engineer Alcantara, Hernandez, Construction Section Head Chief John Michael Ramos, Planning and Design Section Chief Ernesto Galang and 15 others.
Private contractors charged were Cesarah Sarah Discaya and Ma. Angeline Rimando of St. Timothy Construction Corporation, SYMS Construction Trading’s Sally Santos, Wawao Builders’ Mark Arevalo and IM Construction Corp.’s Robert Imperio.
Two more complaints were filed by the DPWH on October 23, 2025 for ghost flood control projects in La Union and Davao Occidental.
On his first day as Ombudsman on October 10, Remulla said that they could file an information at the court by November.
“By November, within November. Pero tingnan natin kung may hinog na file namin agad. Kung September 11, malamang nag-subpoena na ‘yun. Pagka-file ng kaso, the court can issue a warrant of arrest,” he said.
(Let’s see, if we have something ready here, we will file right away. If it was on Sept. 11, chances are it has already been subpoenaed. After the filing of the case, the court can issue a warrant of arrest.)
Dizon is confident someone will be behind bars before Christmas.
“Ang sabi po ni Ombudsman Boying Remulla, yung unang kasong finile natin nung Sept. 13 e yan ang pinakamabilis na na may makukulong. Kasama po diyan yung mga notorious na taga-First District of Bulacan, sila Alcantara, sila Hernandez, etc. at kasama din po sila Sarah Discaya. Tingin ko po sa Pasko, sa kulungan na sila magpa-Pasko nyan,” he said.
(Ombudsman Remulla said that someone could be in jail based in the first case we filed on Sept. 13. This includes the notorious one from the first [engineering] district of Bulacan…I think some will spend Christmas in jail.)
Six to eight months to justice
Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Geraldine Econg said the anti-graft court was ready for the “deluge” of cases and was coming up with “expedited rules” that could finish trials involving anomalous flood control projects in six to eight months.
But it could only take up cases involving officials with Salary Grade 27 above. The highest official in the complaints so far is MIMAROPA Regional Director Pacanan who is salary grade 28 in the Oriental Mindoro case. Alcantara is Salary Grade 25.
“The classification is not the gravity, it’s not the amount that is involved but it pertains to the salary grade of the public official concerned,” she said.
“I think very clear naman ang sinabi ni Ombudsman na talagang iniimbestiga nila and they want to make sure that the charges are correct. So if they feel na wala talagang involved na persons na masasakop dito sa Sandiganbayan, then that will be filed in first or second level courts,” she added.
(What the Ombudsman said was very clear, they are investigating and they want to make sure that the charges are correct. If they feel that no one can be covered by the Sandiganbayan, then that will be filed in the first or second level courts.)
Remulla has already returned to the DOJ for preliminary investigation and possible filing at the Regional Trial Court complaints against contractor Santos, Engineers Alcantara, Hernandez, Mendoza and five other employees of DPWH Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office.
But filing the cases at the Regional Trial Court could present problems in terms of monitoring as they may be scattered based on where the projects were implemented. For comparison, pork barrel cases were all filed at the Sandiganbayan.
The Sandiganbayan said it would submit its new rules to the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo said the High Court would review the rules.
“So any suggestions or recommendations coming from the Sandiganbayan as to expedite the cases involving the flood control projects, for sure we will review immediately these rules and see to it that they are implemented properly,” he said.
SC Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said addressing corruption is an “urgent priority for all justices, judges, lawyers, court personnel and stakeholders.”
“Corruption should no longer be hidden,” he said.
In the pork barrel scam, we had a glimpse of the extent of corruption. In this present controversy, we finally see the structure: an almost institutional corruption hidden in plain view, its effects felt only when our cities are submerged in flood waters.
If corruption were a human being, its torso is now laid bare.
Every time the floodwaters surge, we climb to our rooftops and scream for help, we mourn the loss of our loved ones and livelihood, and we try to rise up from the mud again, as usual. But now we know what brought the horror upon us.
“It’s alarming,” Justice Econg said in describing the scandal.
Swift justice is imperative.
“Papabilisin natin ‘yung mga pangyayari. ‘Yung mga case events para hindi masyadong magtagal at makakalimutan ng ating mga tao,” she said.
(We will speed things up, the case events, so people will not forget.)
And there lies our folly as a people and as a nation: our short memory, perhaps, distracted by our daily struggle to survive.
May the monsoon rains always force us into remembering.—LDF/RSJ, GMA Integrated News
