'Isang pako kada taon?': Quezon City flags flood control project with 66 phases

MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has flagged the absurdity of a flood control project in the city that was discovered to have a whopping 66 phases.

The project carries the generic title "Rehabilitation of Flood Mitigation Structure along San Juan River" but provides no specifics about what work each phase involves, or where it is located within the city's 4.3-kilometer stretch of the river, Belmonte said at a press conference on Friday, August 29.

"Sa 4.3 km stretch na sakop ng Quezon City, saan banda kaya 'yung phases 1 to 66? Ano po ba ito? Isang pako kada taon?" the Quezon City mayor asked.

The 66-phase project is among 254 flood control works worth more than P14 billion that the local government has identified in the city as part of its investigation into anomalous infrastructure projects.

Massive permit violations

Belmonte shared that only two of the 254 flood control projects secured the required Certificate of Coordination from the city government before construction began.

This, according to the Quezon City mayor, is a possible violation of the city's Ordinance SP-2939 Series of 2020, which requires national agencies like the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to get local approval first before going ahead with a project.

The broader picture of the DPWH's projects in the city shows even worse compliance. Of all 1,652 projects in Quezon City, only 315 or 19% applied for required permits and just 138 or 8.4% were approved.

“Many of our countrymen cannot understand why we are not immediately informed whenever DPWH has projects,” Belmonte said in Filipino. “Because the laws clearly mandated coordination, we assumed regularity, expecting our national agencies to respect locally crafted and nationally crafted policies.”

The mayor explained that her administration only opened an investigation after corruption allegations in flood control projects "exploded" nationwide, which came after the launch of the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” open portal for citizens to report flood control projects.

It was through this portal that the city government came up with its own list of existing flood control projects in the city. At least 141 were listed in the portal, while the city government's engineering department discovered 113 more projects based on residents' reports. They also looked at the DPWH website's project and contract management application.

Red flags across multiple projects

The city's engineers found troubling red flags beyond the excessive segmenting of flood control projects. 

Some projects had wrong locations when comparing project titles to their coordinates. 

Others had identical approved budget contracts despite different locations, which Belmonte believes could indicate the "use of templates." 

Several projects declared as completed were found to still be under construction during site visits.

"There are projects that have been divided into too many phases. Some even reached 66 phases. The project titles are too generic. Everything falls under flood control structure," Belmonte said.

"Are they retaining walls? Pumping stations? Dredging? Slope protection?" she added.

Based on the DPWH, infrastructure projects typically follow a four-phase development cycle: project identification, preparation, implementation and operation. The implementation phase itself has sub-phases, including fund releases, right-of-way acquisition, bidding, construction, and completion, among others.

Immediate results from probe

The city's investigation has already stopped one problematic project. Belmonte said she met Thursday with DPWH-NCR Regional Director Gerard Opulencia about the Matalahib pumping station, which was built above a creek in violation of water code regulations and reportedly made flooding worse.

Officials agreed to scrap the project and redirect the remaining P250 million to work that aligns with the city's drainage master plan.

Seven of the top 15 contractors identified in the presidential corruption investigation also have projects in Quezon City, Belmonte noted.

Call for citizen reports

Belmonte urged residents to report questionable flood control projects through the city's Facebook page, Helpline 122, or the People's Corner website.

The mayor specifically asked for information about projects that seem inappropriate, long-stalled, or non-existent at their supposed locations.

"The time is over when projects are just dumped in our city without consultation or coordination," she said.

The city plans to work with the UP Resilience Institute to evaluate projects that communities have identified as ineffective or harmful to flood control efforts, Belmonte said.

While the city government supports national projects, Belmonte said she wants to insist on proper coordination that respects the local government's input and the welfare of its residents.

"We are not against the implementation of national projects in our city. We are always open to collaborate with our national counterparts," she said. "But we insist on a new standard of intergovernmental relations, one that honors the voice of local governments and the dignity of our residents."

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Disclosure: Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte is a shareholder of Philstar Global Corp., which operates Philstar.com. This article was produced independently in adherence to our editorial and ethical guidelines