Senator Grace Poe has formally sought an investigation into the underutilized budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for flood control projects.
In Senate Resolution No. 1090 she filed on Monday, July 29, Poe cited the devastation wrought by Super Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon.
Poe said the DPWH must explain the downward trend of its fund disbursement for flood control and management projects despite getting increases in the budget in the last five years.
"The extensive damage wrought by Super Typhoon Carina highlights an urgent need for a thorough inquiry into the utilization of the DPWH's Flood Management Program and other pertinent projects related to the government's flood control efforts, to ensure the cost-effective allocation of resources," said the head of the Senate committee on finance.
The senator added there is a need to investigate why, despite significant investments in flood control projects and mechanisms, the country remains profoundly ill-prepared to face and withstand such disasters.
"It behooves the Senate to demand an explanation from the DPWH, the government agency responsible for implementing the administration's Flood Management Program, as to why such a devastating incident still occurred despite the program's budget steadily increasing over the past five years," she said.
According to Poe, DPWH got over P90 billion in 2020; P101 billion in 2021; P128 billion in 2022; P182 billion in 2023, and P244 billion this year.
Over the past five years, the funds allotted to the Flood Management Program have comprised about 20% of the entire budget allocated to the DPWH annually, with the percentage increasing to nearly 25% of the DPWH's budget in 2024.
"In stark contrast to the progressive increase in the DPWH budget for the Flood Management Program, the program's actual budget utilization rate has been on an alarming downward trend," she said.
In 2021, the department disbursed only 68.26 percent; 73 percent in 2022; and 58 percent in 2023.
For the current administration alone, since 2022, around P556 billion has been allocated to fund flood control programs, which represents nearly half of the funds for the same projects over the past decade.
Poe also pointed out that during last year's Senate committee hearing on the DPWH budget for the fiscal year 2024, it was revealed that the agency's budget to address the flooding problem in the country would amount to at least P1 billion per day, a projection that its leadership did not dispute.
"Allocating P556 billion is too substantial a sum of money to permit anything less than optimal efficiency and effectiveness in our government programs, yet the current state of flood management in the country clearly demonstrates a dire need for a meticulous reassessment of where our hard-earned taxpayers' money go," she said.
Poe urged the appropriate Senate panel to require during the inquiry the DPWH submission of comprehensive and up-to-date data on the status of its Flood Management Program.
This will include financial expenditures, project timelines, budget utilization rates, and environmental impact assessments.
The senator added there is also a need to ensure that such programs remain effective and responsive to the evolving needs of the country, particularly the vulnerable communities most affected by the recent devastation, and to guide in the determination of future budgets for the program.
"There is no acceptable excuse for the Philippine government's failure to effectively prepare for typhoons, considering that historical data reveals that the country is struck by an average of about 20 typhoons each year," Poe said.
"The budget should be solving the perennial flooding if only it is being spent efficiently," Poe added.