Poe wants probe into DPWH’s underutilized flood-control budget

Rescuers ride on their boat as they evacuate residents from their flooded homes in Tumana village, Marikina City, east of Manila on July 24, 2024, amid heavy rains brought about by Typhoon Gaemi. Relentless rain drenched the northern Philippines on July 24, triggering flooding in Manila and landslides in mountainous regions as Typhoon Gaemi intensified the seasonal monsoon. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Grace Poe on Monday sought a probe into the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) underutilized budget for flood-control projects after the severe flooding in the country caused by Typhoon Carina.

In filing Senate Resolution No. 1080, Poe intends to summon DPWH officials to explain why the agency’s fund disbursement for flood control and management projects is decreasing despite consistently receiving an increase in its budget in the last five years.

“The extensive damage wrought by Super Typhoon Carina highlights an urgent need for a thorough inquiry into the utilization of the DPWH’s Flood Management Program and other pertinent projects related to the government’s flood control efforts, to ensure the cost-effective allocation of resources,” said Poe, head of the Senate Committee on Finance.

“It behooves the Senate to demand an explanation from the DPWH, the government agency responsible for implementing the administration’s Flood Management Program, as to why such a devastating incident still occurred despite the program’s budget steadily increasing over the past five years,” she added.

According to Poe, the DPWH received P90 billion in 2020, P101 billion in 2021, P128 billion in 2022, P182 billion in 2023, and P244 billion in 2024 — with 20 percent allocated to the Flood Management Program from 2020 to 2023, and 25 percent in 2024.

However, the DPWH disbursed only 68.26 percent of its budget in 2021, 73 percent in 2022 and 58 percent in 2023, Poe said.

READ: Government allots over P225 billion for 2024 flood control projects – DBM

“In stark contrast to the progressive increase in the DPWH budget for the Flood Management Program, the program’s actual budget utilization rate has been on an alarming downward trend,” she added.

Poe also pointed out that since 2022, around P556 billion has been allocated to fund flood-control programs, representing almost half of the funds for the same projects over the past decade.

“P556 billion is too substantial a sum of money to permit anything less than optimal efficiency and effectiveness in our government programs, yet the current state of flood management in the country clearly demonstrates a dire need for a meticulous reassessment of where our hard-earned taxpayers’ money go,” she said.

The senator urged the appropriate Senate panel to require the DPWH to submit comprehensive and up-to-date data on the status of its Flood Management Program, including financial expenditures, project timelines, budget utilization rates, and environmental impact assessments.

“There is no acceptable excuse for the Philippine government’s failure to effectively prepare for typhoons, considering that historical data reveals that the country is struck by an average of about 20 typhoons each year,” Poe said.

“The budget should be solving the perennial flooding if only it is being spent efficiently,” she added.