More anomalous flood control projects uncovered in QC

MORE ANOMALY. Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte holds a press conference at the Quezon City Hall on Monday (Sept. 15, 2025). She said they have uncovered 331 anomalous flood control projects by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the city, with a total project cost reaching PHP17 billion. (PNA Photo by Ben Briones)

By Marita Moaje, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Monday voiced dismay and outrage as the city government uncovered more anomalous flood control projects that cost billions of people’s money, which she said could have helped so many people “if only used correctly.”

At a press conference Monday, Belmonte said that from the 254 questionable flood projects initially reported by the city government last Aug. 29, the number ballooned to 331, with the projects reaching a total of PHP17 billion.

Belmonte said this amount could have covered other projects for the benefit of residents.

“Malayo na sana ang inabot ng halagang yan. Nalutas na sana natin ang classroom shortage sa lungsod na 5,300 at magkakasurplus pa… aabot na sana sa 350 PhilHealth accredited centers ang naitayo kung ito ay nagamit para diyan. Kung naging pabahay naman ito, katumbas na sana ito ng 14,167 housing units para sa aming informal sector families (That amount would have gone a long way. We would have solved the classroom shortage in the city of 5,300, and there would still be a surplus…up to 350 Philhealth-accredited centers would have been built if it had been used for that. If it had been used for housing, it would have been equivalent to 14,167 housing units for our informal sector families),” Belmonte said.

She said that if this same amount had been put through the city’s science-based and data-driven drainage master plan (DMP), worked on by experts at the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute (UPRI), over 50 percent of the projects would have been completed.

However, she said 305 projects or PHP14 billion of the PHP17 billion were spent on projects that are not in accordance with, or contrary to the city’s drainage master plan.

“Isipin ninyo na lang ang dami na sanang napagandang buhay, mga kabataang nagkaroon ng mas magandang kinabukasan o mga may sakit na napagamot kung naggamit ng maayos ang pondong yan. Yan ang nakakagalit at nakakasama ng loob, kaya normal lang siguro na mag-alab ang ating mga damdamin (Many lives could have been improved, or youth who would have had a better future, or the sick who would have been treated if that fund had been used properly. That’s what makes us angry and hurt, so it’s only natural that our emotions would flare up),” Belmonte said.

She stressed that the questionable projects, with anomalies from uncoordinated projects, missing documents, tagged as completed but still ongoing, location errors, wrong coordinates, and multiple projects with the same amount or “copy-paste” costing, were undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) from 2022 to 2025.

City Engineer Mark Dale Peral reported that the city government inspected a total of 265 projects, of which 163 were verified as completed, 96 verified as ongoing, and six projects declared as completed but with observed ongoing construction works.

Among these was the construction of the almost PHP49-million flood-control structure along Tullahan River tagged as completed in Nov. 18, 2024, flood control structure along Pasong Tamo completed Oct. 18, 2023, and the construction of the flood control structure and flood mitigation structure both along Marikina River with a date of completion of March 11, 2025 and Dec. 18, 2023, respectively, but still unfinished.

Meanwhile, Peral said 66 projects were found to have location errors, 35 projects were without coordinates and cannot be found, while 31 projects had incorrect coordinates.

The city government’s probe also found at least 10 projects with construction debris present on-site, 20 slope protection projects built on top of existing riprap walls, 12 retaining walls currently damaged or collapsed, three projects in the same location but project completion could not be verified, and two “drainage system’ projects but actual scope of works include only repainting of sidewalk and repair of manhole, as reported by barangay officials, with project costs at PHP48 million and PHP70 million respectively.

Peral also reported that seven out of the top 15 flood control contractors of the DPWH named by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in his report have projects in the city, while eight out of the nine Discaya-owned construction firms have projects in the city.

There are also 12 projects with many phases and no clear delineation indicated on project titles, citing the San Juan River flood mitigation project, which earlier was found to have 66 phases, and was now found to have 92 phases.

Moreover, 22 projects were found to have identical Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC), and 14 had identical contract amounts.

Peral also noted projects constructed directly on the waterways.

“Ito po yung mga (These are) projects na we issued letters of objections, the Matalahib Creek Pump Station, construction of Mariblo Pumping Station Phase 1, and construction of Santa Cruz Pumping Station Phase 2,” he said.

“So for this, ang primary reason for denial is that naka-construct po kasi doon po sa creek mismo, sa ilog mismo siya naka-construct, tapos hindi rin po siya part ng Drainage Master Plan. So talagang it completely obstructs po yung waterways (it was constructed right there in the creek, it was constructed right in the river, and it is also not part of the Drainage Master Plan. So it really completely obstructs the waterways),” he added.

Moving forward, Belmonte signed a memorandum of agreement with Mahar Lagmay of UPRI and the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers-QC Chapter, to check if these existing questionable projects can still be redesigned to avoid wastage.

Belmonte, meanwhile, emphasized that the city is ready to cooperate with any independent or national probe, and that they will submit their findings to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) created by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to lead the investigation into the anomalous flood-control projects, or even to DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, and to the Senate to help in their investigation.