Lacson links solon to flood control projects funded thru ‘insertions’

Sen. Panfilo Lacson —File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo Lacson has linked an incumbent congressman to flood control projects allegedly funded through “congressional insertions.”

In a privilege speech on Wednesday, Lacson revealed one of the “serious congressional insertions” involving projects in the municipalities of Baco and Naujan in Oriental Mindoro, which he later traced to Congressman Arnan Panaligan.

READ: Bulacan ‘most notorious’ in anomalous flood control projects — Lacson

Lacson did not mention Panaligan in his speech, but the congressman’s name appeared on a slide presentation Lacson displayed in the session hall, showing Panaligan’s accomplishment report from June 30, 2022, to December 31, 2023.

The congressman’s name appeared alongside an “AGILA” banner, which stands for Aksyon ng Gobyerno at Inisyatibo sa Larangang Lehislatura.

“He openly lists projects — hold your breath — funded by his office. I repeat, funded by his office, including flood control and river protection initiatives,” Lacson said.

According to the senator, “evident congressional banners were observed alongside many projects in Naujan and Baco.

The banner of Agila, for instance, was seen in one photo of a P95-million flood control project in Barangay Burbuli, Baco, which was awarded to Silverwolves Construction Corporation.

“This project is so important that it can turn stones and get funding approval under the unprogrammed appropriations of the 2024 national budget,” Lacson said.

The municipality of Baco “proudly lists” P807 million worth of projects, while  Naujan “is among  the beneficiaries of P3.6 billion worth of projects,” the senator added.

“All of which is attributed to and owned up by the Office of the Congressman,  Lacson said.

Lacson said the congressman also claimed ownership of a P231-million flood control structure in Butas River (Upstream), Barangay San Jose in Naujan, which was likewise funded through unprogrammed funds.

“These are two AGILA projects that we discovered were funded from unprogrammed funds: one in Barangay Burbuli and another in Barangay San Jose,” Lacson said in Filipino.

In Naujan alone, the senator noted that the funding for flood control projects amounted to P10 billion, which is 55 percent of the province’s 2025 budget for the flood mitigation program.

He acknowledged that the municipality and its residents are in urgent need of flood control interventions, given the coastal topography, which includes lowland plains and extensive river systems such as Mag-Asawang Tubig.

“However, the magnitude of its budget allocation in the last three years alone—amounting to approximately 19 billion pesos and nearly doubling each year — raises concerns regarding Naujan’s curious case,” he said.

A random inspection by his staff of some flood control projects in 10 barangays in Oriental Mindoro also raised more questions.

One of them is Barangay Tagumpay in Naujan, which Lacson dubbed as another case of “flooded” flood control.

According to Lacson, a total of P2.55 billion budget was allotted for 10 projects for the road dike along the Mag-asawang Tubig and Bucayao Rivers.

“According to the governor’s report, which was verified by my staff, parts of this multi-billion peso project have already been damaged twice this year — the worst of which was during the recent Typhoon Emong,” he said in Filipino.

Meanwhile, a portion of a river dike in Barangay Inarawan also collapsed despite the huge funding for its construction.