NEARLY 300 flood control projects in Western Visayas are now under the glare of public scrutiny. From Iloilo to Guimaras, from Aklan to Antique, millions — if not billions — of pesos in taxpayers’ money have been funneled into dikes, drainage, and mitigation structures that, in some cases, have raised more questions than they have resolved.
The revelations emerging from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s “Sumbong sa Pangulo” platform are interesting, to say the least. At least 280 projects between 2022 and 2025 have prompted a coalition of mayors in the region to demand a full-scale probe. Iloilo alone accounted for over 160 projects, while Aklan logged 57 and Antique 36. Yet despite the staggering volume of spending, flooding in some areas remains as devastating as ever — sometimes even worsened by ill-conceived or poorly executed structures.
This is not simply a matter of incompetence but of accountability. Every defective dike, every useless drainage, every substandard flood wall is not just concrete and steel — it represents stolen opportunities for communities to be safer, for farmers to secure their livelihoods, and for families to live without fear of losing everything to the next downpour.
Public works must never be treated as cash cows for contractors or as political trophies for those seeking to fatten their resumes. That is why this investigation must not stop at identifying defective projects; it must go further and hold both government officials and private contractors criminally liable where corruption or negligence is proven. Anything less will only perpetuate the cycle of waste.
Western Visayas mayors are right to demand transparency, but their voices must be matched by action from the Commission on Audit, the Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Ombudsman. It is not enough to catalogue anomalies; the guilty must be punished, and the culture of impunity in infrastructure spending must end.
The probe must also go beyond Western Visayas. If this region has nearly 300 questionable projects in just three years, what does that say about the rest of the country? Flood control is a national priority, yet if the same rotten system of shortcuts and corruption prevails elsewhere, Filipinos nationwide are footing the bill for substandard work that leaves them exposed to disaster. A wider, nationwide audit is no longer optional.
Taxpayers did not pay billions for ornamental dikes and drainage that collapse at the first heavy rain. They paid for safety, security, and resilience. If investigations prove that some officials and contractors pocketed public funds while leaving communities exposed to floods, then those responsible must face not just administrative sanctions — but jail time. Until we see handcuffs and convictions, accountability will remain an empty promise.
