LAWMAKERS have flagged several “suspicious” items for the flood control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) under the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP).
During the briefing by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) on the Proposed Fiscal Year 2026 NEP, Senator Erwin Tulfo raised “what it appears to be either a serious lapse in judgment or a deliberate maneuver in the NEP 2026.”
He noted the “suspicious uniformed costing” of flood control projects in the provinces of Antique and Iloilo.
“Iba-iba dapat ang costing depending on the terrain, materials and scope of work,” said Tulfo.
In response, Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the proposal for budget allocation came from the DPWH and it is not in their mandate to check each line item.
For the 2026 NEP, there were around 15,000 line items in the DPWH budget proposal.
However, Pangandaman said she has already discussed the matter with new DPWH secretary, Vince Dizon, who committed to look into it.
Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said that within the National Capital Region (NCR), Ilocos, Cordillera Administrative Region, and Central Luzon alone, there were 3,500 project items with the same exact amount.
He said there were 88 items similarly amounting to P150 million and 373 projects similarly worth P100 million.
Lacson said these projects are “obviously” red flags.
“Kapag ‘yung mga contractors invaded the House of Representatives and congressmen have invaded the construction businesses, ito ang outcome, kasi NEP pa lang pinapayagan na sila ng DPWH to make insertions,” he said.
Lacson proposed for the conduct of an executive session for the amendment and deletion of all similarly costed projects.
Tulfo also noted the huge budget allocation for flood projects in Nueva Ecija (P3 billion), Apayao (P2.2 billion), and Kalinga (P2.7 billion) under the 2026 NEP.
“Bakit ang laki ng pondo samantalanag mas flood-prone areas ang iba like Metro Manila, Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite hindi kasinglaki ang nakukuha nila,” he said.
(Why is the funding so large when other areas that are more flood-prone, like Metro Manila, Pampanga, Bulacan, and Cavite, do not receive as much?)
Based on the National Adaptation Plan of the Philippines 2023-2050, the top 10 flood-prone provinces in the country are Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Oriental Mindoro, and Ilocos Norte.
“These are not allocations based on the need. These looked like political insertions and no less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself acknowledged that there are certain insertions in the 2026 NEP especially for flood control that were questionable,” Tulfo said.
“This figure does not inspire confidence kung may mga kopya-kopyang projects cost at highly uneven distribution cost of flood budgets ang tanong po ng taong bayan saaan napupunta talaga ang pera? Are we protecting the communities or are we protecting political interests,” he added.
On Monday, September 2, Marcos said the NEP 2026 contains questionable allocations that need to be addressed.
“The more we look, the more we find. Kahit sa 2026 budget, marami pa ring siningit. So... it really needs to be cleaned out properly,” Marcos said.
In his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona), Marcos warned that he will veto the proposed 2026 national budget if it fails to fully align with the government’s NEP.
Marcos issued the warning as he highlighted poorly executed and allegedly fraudulent flood control projects, many of which have caused more damage than they have provided protection to the communities. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)