WHEN a 15-meter stretch of flood-control walls gave way in Mandaue City after heavy rains, it didn’t just send water spilling into streets. It also unleashed a political blame game between two rival camps — Ouano and Cortes.
How we got here
On Aug. 26, 2025, a 15-meter portion of the structure in Barangay Paknaan collapsed during heavy rains. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 later reported that structural instability from water buildup behind PVC sheet piles caused the section to give way. Engineers also flagged a 130-meter stretch of the 416-meter wall as misaligned and inadequately tilted.
The project is part of the Butuanon River outfall phase, meant to reduce flooding in Mandaue City. Instead, its failure has resurfaced old questions about how flood-control projects are funded, built and monitored — and who should be held accountable when they fail.
Political crossfire
Rep. Emmarie “Lolypop” Ouano-Dizon quickly distanced herself from responsibility, pointing to the term of her predecessor, former congressman and mayor Jonas Cortes.
“The collapsed flood-control structure in Barangay Paknaan was not born [during] my term,” she said. “It was conceived, funded, and awarded in 2019 under the congressman who later became city mayor until 2024.”
Ouano-Dizon argued that accountability lies with the DPWH, which implemented and oversaw the project. She urged the public to avoid finger-pointing, even as she stressed that “history cannot be absolved—this failure is the offspring of the past.”
But Cortes’ former chief of staff, Jamaal James Calipayan, countered that while Cortes secured the project’s funding, all procurement, construction, and payments happened during Ouano-Dizon’s watch starting in July 2019.
“Not a single pile, not a single sack of cement, nor a single progress billing was approved while Jonas was still congressman,” Calipayan said.
He added that the project had held up for six years before the collapse, unlike some newer structures under Ouano-Dizon, which he claimed “crumbled like polvoron” before completion.
Why it matters
The collapse raises three big issues: trust in how multimillion-peso infrastructure is overseen, continued risk of flooding in Paknaan, and how political rivalries can overshadow urgent solutions.
Who is affected
Residents of Barangay Paknaan: Most directly impacted by flooding risks.
Mandaue City taxpayers: Who funded a project that is now
partly defective.
Local officials: Both past and present, whose credibility is at stake.
What happens next
DPWH faces pressure to explain its role, while local leaders continue to trade accusations. For residents, the immediate concern is whether repairs will be made before more rains arrive.
Why some projects keep failing
The collapse in Mandaue reflects a pattern seen across the country, where infrastructure projects, especially flood-control works, routinely underperform or fail. Experts and official audits, as reported by various news outlets, point to several systemic weaknesses:
Flaws in procurement: Projects awarded to the lowest bidder may save money upfront, but often compromise on quality and durability.
Insufficient oversight and accountability: A Philippine News Agency piece underscores that both errant contractors and government officials who “approved, tolerated, or failed to monitor these projects must be held accountable”—yet enforcement remains weak.
Corruption and misallocation: In a high-profile Aug. 20, 2025 speech, Sen. Panfilo Lacson revealed that only about 40 percent of flood-control budgets actually reached completed projects, with the remainder lost to corrupt schemes.
Climate-related design pressures: Many projects are based on outdated weather models and don’t account for increasing rainfall intensity due to climate change. As a result, even well-intended flood-control works may collapse under conditions they weren’t designed to withstand.
Looking ahead
The Mandaue collapse raises a bigger question: Can flood-control structures built today withstand the storms of tomorrow?
For Mandauehanons, the real issue isn’t just who is to blame, but whether future projects will finally protect them from the floods they live with year after year.
The dispute highlights recurring questions of accountability in government infrastructure projects. Legislators often lobby for funding, but DPWH handles bidding, procurement, and implementation.
This separation of roles makes it difficult for the public to pinpoint responsibility when projects fail. / CAV