CIBAC Party-List Representative Bro. Eddie Villanueva expresses strong support to Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon for defunding and resetting the flood control projects for 2026 budget as the agency is looking for a science-based and integrated flood control master plan.
During the DPWH budget hearing at the House of Representatives this morning, Secretary Dizon said that the agency slashed P252 billion pesos worth of locally funded flood control projects for next year 2026 budget.
“We welcome Secretary Dizon’s resolve to clean up the flood control budget, defund inefficient and non-delivering projects, and remove duplicate projects, to come up with a really genuine and responsive flood control plan. This is exactly what CIBAC has been saying since 2023: there must be a real flood control masterplan and every project component of it must be really responsive to the problem so that there will be no room for corruption and wastage of funds. We believe it’s better to take a spending pause than to spend just for the sake of spending, especially that we know that we will just fund same kinds of projects that have been ineffective and corruption-laden,” he said.
Rep. Villanueva said that he filed House Resolution No. 208 which pushes for the adoption of a comprehensive, interconnected, and corruption-free national flood control master plan based primarily on finding by experts in the field like the Project NOAH. The resolution cites the worsening floods across Metro Manila and the provinces despite more than ₱1.5 trillion already allocated to DPWH flood control budgets since 2019.
In a budget briefing in 2023, Rep. Villanueva already stood up to question the effectiveness of flood control projects that has received substantial funding of more than 1 billion pesos a day. He said flooding has been worsening despite the billions of pesos spent. He was one of the first lawmakers to call for an investigation on flood control projects.
The CIBAC lawmaker stressed that the stakes are high as the Philippines remains the world’s most disaster-prone country for the third consecutive year.
“Lives and livelihoods are being washed away every typhoon season. It is not enough to keep building riverwalls and revetments without a coherent, science-backed framework. As experts have said, real flood control is not only an engineering or hard infrastructure intervention but a mix of reef to ridge solutions which will address environmental degradation and sustainability at its root,” the CIBAC solon added.
“Our people deserve real solutions—not ghost or overpriced projects, not piecemeal intervention, not corruption-ridden deals. We call for a flood control master plan that truly safeguards Filipino families and reflects the highest standards of stewardship and accountability,” Rep. Villanueva concluded.#