(First of a series)
Pandora's box. Political analyst Ronald Llamas couldn't have picked a better description of the emerging scandal regarding the billions of pesos allocated in spurious flood-control projects.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the province of Laguna, where a quick check by the OpinYon research team unveiled billions allocated in flood-control projects in the first district alone.
The total tab for flood-control projects in the first district from 2023 to 2025, according to data obtained by OpinYon: a staggering P7.560 billion.
Data for San Pedro City
In San Pedro City alone, P2.348 billion pesos were allocated under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) from 2023 to 2025 for flood-control projects.
Most of these "flood mitigation structures" and drainage systems are centered on the small creeks and rivers that flow into the San Isidro River, the city's main waterway.
In 2023, for instance, three slope-protection projects in Barangays Laram, Langgam and Narra were allocated P334 million.
Another project – “Construction of River Control along San Pedro River (Phase 1), San Pedro, Laguna" – was allocated P80 million.
Meanwhile, in 2024, at least five projects rehabilitating the "revetment" or river walls along the city's waterways were allocated a total of P500 million, or P100 million each. Three such projects were located along the San Isidro River.
And for 2025, the biggest share of appropriations for flood-control projects totaling P890 million went to a project for the construction of a "river protection structure" along the Tunasan River near the vicinity of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), possibly in preparation of the opening of the new San Pedro northbound exit. Total amount allocated: P150 million.
The gargantuan amount of public funds allocated towards flood-control projects could make people wonder how much business tycoon Ramon S. Ang had spent in San Miguel Corporation’s (SMC) Better Rivers PH project, which has been credited as having lessened the impact of the weeklong rains that hit Laguna province last July.
People are alarmed (and infuriated) that a private corporation like SMC gets recognized due to the effectiveness of their flood-control projects, while the government’s own measures amounting to billions of pesos are hardly even felt.
Who are the contractors?
Available data obtained by the OpinYon Research Team showed a very sketchy way of how these projects were implemented.
Of the 31 flood-control projects that were listed in San Pedro City alone, only 10 had a record of the contractor who won the bid for the project.
And the plot thickens.
One such project – “Construction of Revetment along Tunasan River (Staggered), City of San Pedro, Laguna)," which was allocated over P100 million in the 2024 GAA – was awarded to a consortium of Alpha & Omega General Contractor and Development Corporation and Elite General Contractor and Development Corporation.
Alpha & Omega General Contractor Development Corporation is one of the 15 contractors named by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. as allegedly having “cornered” over P100 billion in contracts for flood-control projects.
Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto has tagged Alpha and Omega as among the two major contractors allegedly owned by Sarah Discaya, who tried to dislodge him from his post in the recent May 12 midterm elections.
Discaya is now in hot water among netizens after media reports of her allegedly lavish lifestyle, including a collection of over 40 sports cars, resurfaced on social media.
By the way, during the recent flood-control summit organized by the office of Laguna 1st District Representative Ann Matibag last week, it was revealed that it is officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) who chooses the contractor for the project.
Lawmakers have no involvement in the choice of contractors (but then again, some contractors pointed out to have bagged billions in contracting projects are allegedly owned by lawmakers themselves).
During that summit, a representative of the Commission on Audit (COA) explained they have done a check on the list of flood-control projects, adding that there are "no ghost projects" in San Pedro City.
However, he failed to mention the quality of the construction of some of these projects, which are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Lion's share
To get a sense of how much flood-control projects seem to be favored by the DPWH, take a look at how much funds were allocated to other important infrastructure projects during those years.
Senator Bam Aquino hit it right on the head, for instance, when he claimed that flood control projects seemed to be given much more priority inside the DPWH than classrooms.
In the 2025 GAA, for instance, compared to the P890 million allocated for flood-control projects in San Pedro City, only P155 million were allocated to multipurpose buildings and "facilities to support social services."
Out of that measly P155 million, only three projects totaling P15 million concerned the construction of multi-purpose buildings for schools and day-care centers.
And in 2024, with P834 million earmarked for flood control, only P121 million was given to the construction of multipurpose buildings in San Pedro City.
Only one such project on that list concerned schools – that of the rehabilitation of the historic Gabaldon Building at the San Pedro Central Elementary School, a project that was given a paltry P6 million.
(To be continued)
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