THE DEPARTMENT of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) on Tuesday said it will craft objective protocols for the review of government flood-control projects to ensure that it will not be a “witch hunt.”
DEPDev Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon said they will prioritize examining the list from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) following the President’s directive, considering the large number of total projects.
“While waiting for that list, our regional development group is discussing what the protocol for review will be so that it will be objective. We will not be witch-hunting,” Ms. Edillon said in mixed English and Filipino during the 2025 post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) discussions.
In his fourth SONA at the House of Representatives in Quezon City, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. ordered the DPWH to submit a list of the government’s flood-control projects in the last three years.
This came after he discovered collapsed flood-control projects during his recent inspection of the aftermath of the southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones Wipha (Crising), Francisco (Dante) and Co-May (Emong).
The Regional Project Monitoring Committee, under the DEPDev’s Regional Development Council, will then examine the list to flag projects that failed and remained unfinished as well as alleged “ghost” projects.
Ms. Edillon said the committee consists of representatives from regional agencies and the private sector.
“Of course, we’ll also vet with the agency if the parameters we’re looking at are correct before we deliberate,” she told reporters on the sidelines of the discussion.
When asked how they will ensure the list is complete, Ms. Edillon said they are “under the assumption of regularity.”
“Number one, we’re still under the assumption of regularity. But they are able to know that down at the Regional Development Council because even before they submit the budget — the regions — they discuss it with those at the bottom. So, they have an idea of what to propose,” she said.
Mr. Marcos said the list will be published for public scrutiny, but DEPDev said they are uncertain when it would be released.
AUDIT COMMITTEEMeanwhile, the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) urged the President to establish a public audit committee that could help in efforts to scrutinize the government’s flood control projects.
The proposed audit panel that would probe the flood control projects should be composed of civil society groups, anti-corruption watchdogs, engineers and community leaders, CenPEG said in a statement.
“Historically, the flood control budget has been riddled with corruption, political patronage and manipulation — especially during election cycles,” CenPEG said. “The mere publication of flood control projects, although a gesture toward transparency, lacks the participatory oversight and institutional power required to dismantle entrenched corrupt practices.”
The audit committee should be granted the authority to summon officials and contractors for questioning and subpoena documents on flood control deals, the think-tank added.
The panel should also be institutionalized via an executive order or through a law and be funded by the government, it said. — Katherine K. Chan and Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
