Progressive groups have called for an immediate investigation into alleged irregularities in the Department of Public Works and Highways–Davao Region’s (DPWH-Davao) flood control projects, staging a protest outside the agency’s office on Guerrero Street on Monday, September 8, 2025.
Anakbayan–Southern Mindanao Region (Anakbayan-SMR), along with other youth organizations, led the demonstration. Protesters carried images of flood control contractors, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and First District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte to highlight their concerns over corruption and accountability.
Anakbayan-SMR chairperson Fauzhea Guani questioned why Davao City continues to suffer from heavy flooding despite DPWH-Davao allocating some P37.8 billion for flood control projects from 2016 to 2025. She accused both the Duterte and Marcos administrations of enabling and benefiting from corruption.
“The revelation of the failure of flood control projects highlights a systemic issue. Bureaucrat capitalism is being exposed as they gain billions from the substandard and ghost projects, and make money from these government contracts. We must exact accountability from the Duterte and Marcos administrations for pocketing the lion’s share of taxpayers’ money,” Guani said.
She also hit Rep. Paolo Duterte for previously dismissing Davao’s flooding as “natural,” calling him “out of touch” and “insensitive.” Guani argued that the flooding is man-made, worsened by poor planning, failed leadership, and corruption.
“This is a failure of policies, a failure of leadership, and a failure of the system. Their narrative blatantly ignores the glaring reality that since 2016, there have been more than 800 ongoing and completed flood control projects, yet these supposed solutions have clearly failed. Year after year, residents continue to endure dangerous high floodwaters,” she said.
Records at the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) show that Davao has 265 flood-prone areas: 140 in District 1, 69 in District 2, and 56 in District 3.
Guani alleged that the worsening flooding crisis stems from the collusion of private contractors and corrupt politicians. She said that negligence and the misuse of public funds have only worsened Davao City’s flooding, with ordinary Dabawenyos suffering the most.
Duterte, however, earlier insisted that all flood control projects in his district were completed and properly implemented. He also downplayed the city’s flooding, saying it was not as severe as in other parts of the country.
Councilor Alberto Ungab, chair of the Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, has proposed forming an inter-agency flood control task force to coordinate solutions.
“Besides, do not mind the floods in Davao, I can guarantee everybody that every peso allocated was implemented. Wala naman nagbabagsakan na mga flood control projects dito, wala din mga ghost projects dito (There are no flood control projects collapsing here, and there are no ghost projects either),” he said.
Davao City-based environment group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (Idis) proposed nature-based solutions to flooding, such as watershed protection, the construction of retention and detention ponds, mangrove rehabilitation, and the restoration of wetlands and estuarine marshes.
Meanwhile, environmental group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (Idis) pushed for nature-based measures such as watershed protection, mangrove rehabilitation, and wetland restoration. They urged the DPWH, LGUs, and legislators to disclose the status of funded projects and go beyond “grey” infrastructure, which they said merely shifts flooding instead of solving it. RGP