Examining Flood Control Project Controversies in the Philippines: What
is done, should have been done, and what can and must be done
A Case Study on the Flood Control Projects Controversy in the Philippines
Submitted to the Faculty of the Social Sciences Department
College of Arts and Humanities
Palawan State University
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the course: PSM 3: Philippine Public Administration
First Semester, AY 2025-2026
CARALIPIO, JOHN ELY B.
September 2025
Executive Summary
This case study takes a look at the controversies that follow flood control projects in
the Philippines, especially in Manila and surrounding flood-prone communities. Given
massive government spending, 9,855 projects worth ₱564.64 billion from 2022 to 2025,
communities continue to be threatened by project delays, ghost projects, and corruption.
Some of the red flags include overlapping contracts, bid-rigging, and misplacement of
facilities, with investigative reports tracing billions of pesos to one family of contractors, the
Discayas. Government officials, such as the Department of Public Works and Highways
(DPWH), were questioned by the Commission on Audit, Office of the Ombudsman, and
Senate Blue Ribbon Committee due to poor supervision and inadequate disclosure. This
research identifies how unchecked natural resource exploitation, such as mining and
logging, increases flood vulnerability, calling for efficient flood control measures. Solutions
proffered include shifting to electronic financial systems to provide traceable fund flows,
having real-time auditing for transparency, and synchronizing urban planning with the
capacities of local governments to enhance project localization and accountability. The
controversy highlights governance structural vulnerabilities and reiterates that substantial
reforms need to bring together technological, structural, and administrative interventions to
recover public confidence and protect people from flood risk.
Background of the Study
Flooding is the occurrence of water overflowing onto areas of land that is usually dry.
Flooding can happen during rains, heavy rains, thunderstorms, or even when ocean waves
reach beyond seashores and at rare occasion, when dams break. Flood can arrive within
minutes or gradually over a period of time and may last from days to months and sometimes
even longer. (NOAA National Service Storms Laboratory, n.d)
With the Philippines’ geographical location, it has a tropical nature wherein the nation
only has 2 seasons; wet and dry. Due to that, rainfalls are normal and abundant (PAGASA,
n.d). Flooding becomes an obvious risk here in the Philippines when we, humans, coexist
with nature and how we utilize, exploit, and extract natural resources must be heavily
monitored, administered, and limited or even restricted at some instances.
In the context of flooding, Mining and Deforestation are the key suspects in
amplifying the risk of flood occurring and its damages when it occurs (Philippine Revolution,
2024). Philippines has a vast range or large natural resources all around the nation, and due
to that, the country can naturally fight floods. However, how can nature defend itself when
we humans are also the enemies of it, if mining, deforestation, and other intense exploitation
of natural resources were properly managed, monitored, limited or even prohibited, flood
would have been no problem to us as a nation and dealing with it would be easy. “Prevention
is better than cure” yes but however those limitations, monitoring, and restrictions were
supposed to be the prevention and heavy damages of floods. We now move on to cure,
what can we do now when heavy flooding can happen anywhere in the country? Flood
Control Projects are then implemented. What are Flood Control Projects? As for Department
of Public Works and Highways, these are the engineering works that provide flood protection
and damage, in a more specific sense, the 2022 Guidelines of Department of Public Works
and Highways in categorizing Flood Control Structures states those flood control projects
hold, pump and divert flood water, increasing the capacity of an area to handle flood, hold
excess water, and enhance flood flow. This conforms to the traditional description of flood
control projects as described in a 2014 study of the National Academy of Science and
Technology.
Flood Control Projects are intended with a great purpose, to protect lives,
infrastructures, and properties, wherein everyone will benefit. Even with most positive intent,
it has become an issue, a controversy, and somewhat a scam. The people who were
suppose to implement those projects, whom we put our trust, have betrayed us and taken
advantage of the system. They have succumbed to their rationality, putting themselves first
instead of millions of people that depend on them.
Between July 2022 and May 2025, 9,855 flood control projects were funded with a
whopping P564.64 billion, and even with that flood-prone communities are still vulnerable
(INQUIRER.NET, 2025). 6,021 projects amounting to P350 billion have no details
whatsoever (INQUIRER.NET, 2025), manifesting zero transparency within the management
of those projects.
CASE EVALUATION
Flood Control Projects are meant to provide us security from floods. The Department
of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) lead the initiatives on this matter, allotting billions on
infrastructures such as river walls, drainage systems, and water or floodways.
With this, two opposing side arises.
The defenders or the implementers like DPWH which from the words of their former
secretary Manuel Bonoan defending the projects admitting that there are in fact delays but
they will be completed on time (Manila Standard, 2023)
Sarah and Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya, owning 9 construction companies, all of them
being involved in this controversy, are also key players in this issue. Throughout the senate
hearings, issues and malpractice by them and their companies have been found out. Various
allegations are still on going.
Here presents the list of few things that their companies had done
Their companies have been found to overlap contracts with their other owned
companies, explicitly violating procurement rules. They have bid and won 345 solo and joint
projects amounting to P25.2 billion pesos (PCIJ 2025). This manifests the monopolization
within those projects, while multiple construction companies bid for a certain project, most or
even all of them are owned by the Discayas. So even when their outputs or services are
substandard, they don’t bother to improve them because there is no presence of competition
when things are monopolized.
Some projects presented on paper were also non-existent or built but not in the
approved locations. The said findings were stated in the COA Fraud Audit Report on flood
control projects in Bulacan. An auditor stated that “a river wall meant for in Barangay
Pagala, Sta. 00+910 to Sta. 01+310, Baliuag, Bulacan was built somewhere else” (GMA
News Online, 2025). This inconsistency rises concern into where was the actual structure
built? Why did they relocate the project? Some questions answered but questions like these
are always avoided.
Another allegation towards the Discayas were bid-rigging where in they allegedly
rigged over 1,200 flood control contracts and if proven true, penalties can amount up to
P300 billion pesos. 1,214 to be exact, the number of flood control contracts awarded to the
Discaya-owned companies or firms that would equate to a total of P77.934 billion pesos.
Vince Dizon (Current DPWH Secretary) stated that if the allegations were proven to be true,
1st offence penalty would be P110 million pesos and an additional P250 million for each
subsequent offence (PNA, 2025). While the penalty is vigorous, it is really hard to prove
them when evidences are lacking, and with them pointing fingers across other individuals in
the senate, it becomes a total mess on who is the real perpetrator here, who is the
mastermind, the one pulling the strings.
In a sworn statement, the Discaya couple named many individuals involved in the
controversy. Even naming the President’s cousin, Speaker Martin Rumualdez. Also,
Congressman Elizaldy Co and other Congressmen from other regions (Gulf News, 2025).
The second side, the critics, investigators, and the public
Commission on Audit (COA) Chair Gamaliel Cordoba led the exposure of P327
million worth of ghost projects or projects that were relocated/misplaced. This led to a
nationwide order to conduct a performance audit on flood control projects (GMA News
Online, 2025)
The Office of the Ombudsman have already suspended 16 officials of Department of
Public Works and Highways from their positions due to their alleged involvement in the
controversies (PNA, 2025).
Senate Blue Ribbon Committee
August 2025, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, led by Senator Risa Hontiveros,
started an investigation towards the alleged ghost projects intended for flood control under
the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The hearings were greatly
supported or pushed by COA reports and an expose from Philippine Center for Investigative
Journalism that linked billions of pesos from in contracts from a single family, The Discayas
Us, The Public, have also voiced out our comments, opinions, and feelings regarding
this issue. We were supposed to be the benefactor of these flood control projects and yet
here we are, the victims and out of all sectors, we are the most affected by this malpractice
and injustice brought to us by these people.
Proposed Solutions
1. Transition to Digital Financial Systems.
As study entitled “Less Cash, Less Crime: Evidence from the Electronic Benefit
Transfer Program” from August 2014 had the findings that Digital Financing Systems offers a
better convenient way of circulating money. With Digital Financing Systems, we are able to
trace logs, who sent the funds, who received. Even down to small cents can be tracked. It
would the individual responsible for those projects to hide or be avoidant from being
accountable. This solution could open the door for high transparency; liquidations would
become easier. Receipts are always present whether they like it or not. If implementation is
successful, projects like these flood control projects cannot be cheated anymore and there is
no way for the corrupt to escape
2. Strengthen Accountability and Transparency
One issue in this controversy is that it is already late, the malpractices had been
done and concealed already, what was stolen is now gone. One thing to solve this issue is
real time transparency. Strictly monitoring the budgets of these projects would mean they are
always checked, what comes in and goes out are tracked, and when a red flag arises, it
must be addressed right away. Real time updates that take no longer than weeks must be
practiced so that anomalies are noticed early, so that appropriate actions can be done in a
timely manner, not when it is too late. This makes it hard for individuals who plan to corrupt
the projects a hard time to put money in their pockets, due to the vigorous checking and
monitoring, they would not be able to have the chance to steal and make the government
look like kids.
3. Strengthen Urban Planning
A much more specific planning or designation of these projects could help if a certain
region or an LGU would be capable to handle a project that large. With this, misplaced
projects can be avoided and people accountable are narrowed down and easy to pinpoint.
This would mean that projects can localized based on their capability, if an LGU is capable
and it is within their jurisdiction then the National Government designate the projects to
them. Under Republic Act 7160, Section 12, LGUs are responsible for infrastructures and
facilities intended primarily to service the needs of the residents, which can include flood
control projects like drainage systems, waterways, and even river walls if there is a river
present withing the jurisdiction of the LGU.
Conclusion
The Flood Control Project controversy exposes far more than the failure of
governance; it reveals a deeper flaw or hole in the nation’s system of accountability. Even
with fullest positive intention of protecting the public from calamity, it has transformed into a
disaster of its own, one that comes from greed, weak governance and abuse of power. The
massive amount of funds, contracts that overlap, and ghost projects reveals how corruption
still thrives when transparency is no where to be seen and weak.
In the future, for us not to experience this outright foolishness that the people behind
those projects do, reforms must not only include investigation and suspension. The system
itself must evolve. Transitioning government transactions to digital financing systems would
make funds flow traceable, and verifiable, leaving no chance or room for missing billions or
misplaced projects. Together with real-time auditing and strict accountability measures, they
would strengthen integrity and restore the trust that the public had originally given to them.
Moreover, integrating urban planning and local governance ensures that projects are
made or implemented where they are needed the most and by authorities that possess the
capacity to handle them. Only through these structural and technological reforms can we
achieve the full implementations of flood control projects and enjoy their benefits and
purpose.
In the end, we, as a nation, the Philippines, must reflect to ourselves and learn from
this controversy that our endless battle with corruption and inefficiency is not only about
punishing the guilty but also reforming and building a system that in anyway prevents and
shields us from malpractice and wrongdoings and promotes honesty and quality service from
public servants.
Recommendations
The most realistic ways of reform or solutions I can think to further improve the
implementations of projects in general is to digitalize the circulation of government funds
almost entirely. With this, no financial actions are left untracked and, in a way, more
convenient for the finance teams to transfer such large funds. This reform would prevent the
underground transactions or under-the-radar transfer of funds done with physical funds.
Implementation
1. Implement a Centralized Digital Financial Management System
The government should implement a Centralized Digital Management System
wherein they would provide or make a partnership with a secure and transparent.
Through this funds that are released and received relating government projects are
safely secured and are traced. Every peso is traceable; nothing goes out like a
bubble. This minimizes or completely eradicates the risk of ghost projects, overlaps
and misplaced projects.
2. Integrate Real-Time Auditing and Public Access to Data
As it is a basic human right, the public must have a way of accessing
information regarding funds for government projects and all factors and things
relevant, and real-time updates and audits be possible in those platforms.
3. Mandate Digital Transactions across all Government Agencies
To ensure that there are uniformity and loopholes are avoided, all agencies must also
transit to digital transactions. This includes payments to contractors, suppliers, and
employees.
References
National Severe Storms Laboratory. (n.d.). Severe Weather 101: Flood basics.
https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/floods/
PAGASA. (n.d.). Climate of the Philippines. Retrieved October 5, 2025, from
https://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/information/climate-philippines?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Philippine Revolution. (2024, February 7). Mining and deforestation cause flooding and
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