(Composite image from AFP and Inquirer files)
MANILA, Philippines — An investigation is necessary to check where the bottlenecks and possibly weak points for corruption are in the government’s flood control projects, Surigao del Sur 1st District Rep. Romeo Momo said on Tuesday.
Momo, chairperson of the House of Representatives’ committee on public works and highways during the 19th Congress — said that it is important that issues be identified and addressed quickly to mitigate floods across the country.
“We need to identify the bottlenecks—whether they are due to corruption, mismanagement, or poor planning—and ensure that these issues are immediately addressed,” Momo, a former undersecretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), said in a statement.
“While flood-control projects are important due to climate change and are therefore laudable, to ensure effectiveness, however, they must have undergone proper feasibility study, detailed engineering design, and\ rigorous master planning,” he added.
According to Momo, he supports President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s call to review all flood control projects that have failed to address flooding after three successive cyclones entered the country this July and intensified the southwest monsoon or “habagat”.
Marcos, during his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday condemned government officials and contractors who allegedly earned kickbacks from flood control projects, saying that they should be ashamed of themselves.
READ: Sona 2025: Marcos on corrupt people in flood control deals: ‘Shame on you’
“The President has my full support in his call for transparency and accountability. Billions of pesos are allocated yearly for flood control, but our communities continue to suffer from widespread flooding,” Momo said.
“We have just seen it again this past week after the several typhoons and the habagat swamped communities in Luzon,” Momo added.
“We owe it to the Filipino people, to our taxpayers, to ensure that their hard-earned money is invested into projects that will protect them and their families.”
Problems regarding floods were a central theme in Marcos’ Sona, amid warnings that funds for flood control projects may have fallen prey to corruption.
Recently, Senator Panfilo Lacson warned that half of the country’s almost P2 trillion funds from 2011 for flood control projects may have been lost already — stressing the need for a review. With reports from Ryanna Aquino, INQUIRER.net trainee
READ: P1 trillion for flood control likely lost due to graft – Lacson
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