Cities back restored LGU sign-off rule for national infra projects

MANILA, Philippines — The League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) threw its support behind President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.’s decision to restore the requirement for local governments to sign off on national projects before completion, a measure reimposed in light of exposed flood control irregularities.

In a statement on Friday, September 19, LCP National President and San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora said local governments should be granted oversight powers to review projects carried out by national agencies, such as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), within their jurisdiction.

"This policy affirms the President's trust and confidence in LGUs as genuine partners in governance and as frontliners in ensuring accountability," he said in a statement. 

"It also reinforces the critical role of cities in monitoring and reporting on infrastructure projects," he added. 

The LCP stressed that giving city governments the authority to assess projects before they are marked complete would help prevent “ghost” or substandard projects from being passed off without scrutiny. 

This came after chest-deep floods quickly submerged homes in cities and towns during heavy rains in July and August, despite the government spending billions on flood control — only to later discover that many structures, even in flood-prone areas, were poorly built or never built at all.

"With this reinstated policy, LGUs will have clearer oversight of project progress and completion within their jurisdictions—information that is essential to informed and effective development planning," LCP said, describing the policy as a "win-win solution" providing a more foolproof safeguard against corruption.  

Uncoordinated projects swamp Quezon City

In Quezon City, officials recently found that only two of the 331 DPWH flood control projects slated for 2022 to 2025 had secured a certificate of coordination from the local government.

Mayor Joy Belmonte said that such certification is required under Ordinance SP-2939, which the city council passed in 2020 to ensure all projects in the city are coordinated with the local government.

The 331 projects were worth P17 billion, yet the DPWH and its contractors pushed through with 329 of them without a certificate of coordination. Of these, 200 projects have already been declared complete. 

Nearly nine in 10 of the flood control projects were also found to be inconsistent with Quezon City’s Drainage Master Plan.

The city also discovered that more than half of the flood control projects were not even proposed in the National Expenditure Programs from 2022 to 2025. In other words, these projects were "inserted" by lawmakers in the creation of the General Appropriations Act of each year. 

And this is just one city. 

Independent commission gets to work

In response to these issues, Marcos created the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) through Executive Order 94 to investigate infrastructure projects, including flood control, and uncover alleged corruption involving officials.

The House and Senate also launched their own probes into DPWH projects.

Yet with both chambers drawn into the controversy, the public has questioned whether these investigations represent a conflict of interest and risk becoming tools for implicated lawmakers to exonerate themselves. 

While the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has chosen to continue with its probe, the House Infra Committee is considering wrapping things up to give way for the independent commission. This, Deputy Speaker Janette Garin said on Thursday, after Rep. Martin Romauldez resigned as House speaker to address accusations against him.  

The newly formed body has already begun looking into anomalous flood control projects, starting with Quezon City. 

RELATED: ICI team inspects DPWH flood control projects in Quezon City

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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.