FORMER Cebu Seventh District congressman Peter John Calderon on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, denied requesting the P100-million allocation in the 2025 national budget for a seawall project in Badian, Cebu.
Calderon said the funds came from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Cebu 7th District Engineering Office and that the budget has not yet been released.
The allocation, flagged as part of P13.8 billion worth of insertions in the 2025 General Appropriations Act, was raised by Navotas Representative Tobias Tiangco during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Monday, September 8.
Tiangco alleged that then-appropriations chair Zaldy Co was behind the insertions, which were linked to flood-control projects nationwide.
Calderon said the proposed P100 million was intended for a seawall along the Santander-Barili-Toledo Road, a national highway that cuts across several towns on Cebu’s western seaboard, including Ginatilan, Malabuyoc, Alegria, Badian, Moalboal, Alcantara, Ronda, Dumanjug and Barili, before reaching Aloguinsan and Toledo City.
He said the project was meant to shield the road from storm surges, citing the damage caused by Typhoon Odette in 2021.
“I did not request for this particular project,” Calderon said. “According to DPWH Cebu 7th DEO, they were the ones who requested for the funding of this project. They can explain better the circumstances of their request.”
Calderon clarified that while the item appeared in the 2025 General Appropriations Act, its release has not yet been approved.
Tiangco, meanwhile, said several lawmakers had denied ownership of the projects tagged as insertions, raising questions about how they ended up in the budget.
The bulk of the alleged allocations went to Abra, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro. (CDF)