After flood-control freeze, Senate panel eyes funds to finish abandoned works
MANILA, Philippines — A year after flood-control spending was frozen in response to a massive corruption scandal, the powerful Senate finance committee is backing its return in the 2027 budget, but only to finish projects already underway.
The approach would keep the door shut on new flood-control projects while restoring money for unfinished works. Committee chair JV Ejercito said the blanket freeze left gaps exposed by the recent widespread flooding in Central Luzon and Metro Manila.
Speaking at a Senate briefing Tuesday, September 1, Ejercito said his committee would maintain its position against funding new flood-control projects under the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget.
"I think we have to resume, but only the uncompleted projects. We should finish the flood-control projects that were not completed... There will be no new flood-control projects," Ejercito said in Filipino.
Funding for new locally funded flood-control projects was withheld from the 2026 budget after investigations into alleged ghost, substandard and anomalous projects involving public officials and private contractors.
Ejercito said the consequences of leaving flood-control projects unfinished could be seen in the recent habagat flooding that submerged parts of Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan and Metro Manila.
For 2027, the Department of Public Works and Highways proposed around P107.4 billion for flood-control projects. The National Expenditure Program, meanwhile, provides P103.45 billion for the agency's Flood Management Program.
Infrastructure master plan
Ejercito also renewed his push for the Masterplan for Infrastructure and National Development (MIND) Act, which seeks to institutionalize a long-term national blueprint for infrastructure projects.
"This will serve as the blueprint or direction for all our infrastructure programs in the future and would transcend several presidencies. Hopefully, even if this has not yet been passed, the budget hearings can already move toward that kind of long-term planning," Ejercito said.
Ejercito said a national infrastructure master plan could help the Philippines catch up with its Southeast Asian neighbors while reducing opportunities for another corruption scandal involving public works.
"So, we hit two birds with one stone. Hopefully, with the MIND bill, we will be able to catch up with our ASEAN neighbors in infrastructure while also preventing corruption scandals as large as the flood-control scam," he said.
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