The situation, in brief
Flood control projects listed on the government’s Sumbong sa Pangulo website reveal a concentration of billions of pesos in districts controlled by members of the ruling Lakas party and its allies. This was revealed by IBON Foundation Executive Director Sonny Africa in an interview on DZRH News’…
Flood control projects listed on the government’s Sumbong sa Pangulo website reveal a concentration of billions of pesos in districts controlled by members of the ruling Lakas party and its allies.
This was revealed by IBON Foundation Executive Director Sonny Africa in an interview on DZRH News’ Special on Saturday program on September 13.
Africa said IBON counted nearly 10,000 projects worth a total of ₱540 billion.
Of this, ₱245 billion went to districts represented by Lakas members, ₱38 billion to Partido Federal, ₱87 billion to the National Unity Party (NUP), ₱79 billion to the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), and ₱50 billion to the Nacionalista Party. Liberal Party lawmakers also received projects worth ₱16 billion.
“Ginamit namin ang Sumbong sa Pangulo website. Binilang namin, humigit kumulang, halos sampung libong proyekto… ₱245 billion ay napunta sa mga miyembro ng Lakas,” Africa said.
“Partido Federal ₱38 billion, NUP ₱87 billion, NPC ₱79 billion, Nacionalista ₱50 billion. Liberal Party nakakuha rin naman, ₱16 billion sila, may barya sila,” he added.
He noted that the biggest number of projects were handled by contractors tied to Lakas, the political party of House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
“Kawalan iyan ng pondo para doon sa pag-improve ng produksyon para magmura ang presyo ng pagkain,” he added, arguing that infrastructure allocations divert funds away from social and economic priorities.
Africa also questioned the inclusiveness of economic growth under such arrangements. “Para kanino pa ang ekonomiya dapat, para kanino pa ang ekonomiya dapat, kundi para sa nakararami? Hindi lang mga malalapit sa kusina ang nakikinabang sa takbo ng ekonomiya,” he said.
According to IBON, the projects listed on Sumbong sa Pangulo represent only ₱540.4 billion, less than one-third of the ₱1.7 trillion in flood control projects from 2018 to 2025, and less than half of the ₱1.2 trillion from 2022 to 2025.
The website, he said, does not identify congressional districts or legislators tied to the projects, which IBON says hinders accountability.
The group’s estimates, drawn from incomplete data on the website, showed Lakas with 45% of the reported allocations, followed by NUP with 16%, NPC with 16%, Nacionalista with 11%, Partido Federal with 5%, Liberal Party with 3%, and others with 4%.
