23/10/2025
๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐: ๐๐
๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐' ๐๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐น
There are two sides to the story in the Philippines. One is a family living in comfort, enjoying luxury paid by taxpayers. The other is a family barely surviving, sacrificing every day just to put food on the table. This contrast shows the harsh reality in the Philippines: while some benefit from government connections, others are left behind to endure hardship and loss.
Flood control has become one of the most urgent concerns in the Philippines today. It goes beyond infrastructure issues and uncovers deeper problems of inequality, injustice, and neglect. Vulnerable communities, especially those living in informal or disaster-prone areas, face the worst impacts of natural calamities while receiving the least support and protection.
The Philippines, particularly Luzon, regularly experiences strong and destructive typhoons. These storms bring massive flooding, landslides, and storm surges that destroy homes, displace families, and take lives. Flooding affects not only rural areas but also cities, showing how unprepared and poorly protected even urban centers are. For many Filipinos, floods are not just seasonal disastersโthey are a constant threat. Who will help those Filipinos?
Floods may be unavoidable, but their damage can be reduced through proper planning and infrastructure. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) supports this, saying that damage from floods can be controlled with the right systems. In 2012, the government introduced the Flood Management Master Plan for Metro Manila and nearby areas, with an estimated cost of โฑ352 billion. This plan included the construction of pumping stations, river dredging, drainage system improvements, and large-scale d**e projects like the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway D**e. These efforts were meant to protect flood-prone communities and reduce the long-term risks from future typhoons. But as the years passed, these promises began to unravel.
๐๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ โ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐
Flood control in the Philippines was meant to be a beacon of hope, especially for vulnerable communities repeatedly devastated by typhoons and rising waters. Flood control in the Philippines was supposed to bring hope, especially to communities constantly battered by typhoons and rising waters. But behind the promise was a system plagued by corruption. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the lead agency for these projects, is now at the center of one of the countryโs biggest scandals.
In 2025, former DPWH engineers testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, revealing that many flood control projects were either substandard or grossly overpriced to allow kickbacksโallegedly 20% or moreโfunneled to members of Congress and other officials. Among those implicated was Rep. Zaldy Co, who denies the accusations. The whistleblowers admitted funds were diverted to finance personal luxuries like vacations, real estate, and luxury vehicles.
Under the "Build, Build, Build" and "Build Better More" programs, over โฑ545 billion was allocated for more than 9,800 flood control projects. But instead of reducing disaster risks, these projects exposed a different kind of disasterโone rooted in greed and neglect. Ghost projects in Bulacan, collapsed d**es in Lucena, and flood structures in low-risk areas point to either extreme incompetence or a deliberate betrayal of public trust.
What makes this more than just another scandal is how it undermines the very rights enshrined in the Constitution. Article II, Section 16 guarantees every Filipino โa balanced and healthful ecology,โ while Article XIII, Section 9 mandates that the State must ensure โadequate social servicesโ and โsafe and decent living conditions.โ When corrupt officials and contractors profit from broken d**es and non-existent drainage, they donโt just waste money โ they violate the law and the dignity of Filipino lives. The Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019) clearly criminalizes such acts, and yet many of the accused remain in power or unpunished.
๐๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ, ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ปโ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ.
Despite the billions spent, most flood control projects remain unfinished, useless, or misplaced. Filipinos continue to suffer while officials walk away untouched. Truly, we've been played by the government, and we're still the ones suffering from their sneakiness. As Jessica Soho put it best, โHindi pala baha ang magpapalubog sa ating bayan, kundi kasakiman.โ
Itโs time to listen to the people on the ground, to invest in solutions that value both nature and lives. Because safety should never be a privilegeโit is a right every Filipino deserves.
โ๐ป: Lyra A. Bangen
๐ผ๏ธ: Princess Jehan B. Somera
