MANDAUE City has the highest number of flood control projects in Cebu’s Sixth Engineering District, with 51 projects launched from 2022 to 2025 under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7, amounting to P3.8 billion.
Gumer Castillo, DPWH 7 Sixth District engineer, said in a phone interview on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, that most of these projects are along major waterways such as the Butuanon River and Mahiga Creek, which form part of the natural catchment area between Mandaue and Cebu City.
These channels carry large volumes of water from the uplands during heavy rains, making Mandaue a natural “waterway center” in the district and explaining why it has received the largest share of flood control projects, Castillo said.
The DPWH Sixth Engineering District serves the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu and the municipalities of Consolacion and Cordova.
This revelation came as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. scrutinizes the country’s flood control budget. He recently flagged a “disturbing” trend of a few contractors securing a significant share of the P545-billion national fund.
Other projects
In Consolacion and Cordova, a combined total of 27 projects worth P3.2 billion were carried out over the same period — nine in 2022, 11 in 2023, eight in 2024 and nine in 2025.
Lapu-Lapu City has nine projects worth P306 million — one in 2022, three in 2023, two in 2024 and three in 2025.
Castillo said the 2022 and 2023 projects have been completed, while some 2024 works remain suspended due to pending environmental clearances and permits.
Several projects implemented in 2025 are still ongoing, but Castillo could not provide the exact breakdown between completed and in-progress works.
Documented
Castillo stressed that all projects are documented and accounted for under his watch.
He also noted that QM Builders, one of 15 contractors the President mentioned, was not involved in the Sixth Engineering District works.
According to Castillo, the DPWH Central Office has ordered a complete inventory of flood control projects from 2022 to 2025, with validation now ongoing.
Gov. Pamela Baricuatro, for her part, has requested DPWH 7 for a full list of flood control projects in the province.
While the Provincial Government has not implemented its own flood control projects, Baricuatro said it will support any probe initiated by the National Government.
DPWH 7 Director Danilo Villa Jr. said the awarding of contracts to major firms such as QM Builders — identified as the fourth-highest project awardee in Cebu — does not imply any wrongdoing.
Villa emphasized that all awards went through competitive bidding and that smaller contractors also won bids in the region.
He said QM Builders, based in Dumanjug, has been instrumental in post-typhoon Odette recovery efforts.
Dumanjug Mayor Efren “Gungun” Gica also defended the company, calling it a “highly professional” firm employing thousands of locals and contributing to community projects out of its own funds.
Villa and his team were scheduled to present a full report on Cebu’s flood control projects to Congress on Wednesday, to detail their status, challenges and recommendations. / CAV, CDF, ANV