ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider PBBM is using flood control probe as cover-up for next flooding—VP Sara

PBBM is using flood control probe as cover-up for next flooding—VP Sara

Published Aug 20, 2025 12:28 pm
President Marcos’ push to investigate the government’s failed flood control projects is simply a way for him to excuse himself from his responsibilities and obligations when the next flooding happens, Vice President Sara Duterte said.

Vice President Sara Duterte during a meet and greet with her Filipino supporters in Paris, France on Aug. 18, 2025. (Photo from DDS Europe Facebook page)
Vice President Sara Duterte during a meet and greet with her Filipino supporters in Paris, France on Aug. 18, 2025. (Photo from DDS Europe Facebook page)
In an interview in Paris during a meeting with the Filipino community there on Aug. 18, the Vice President pointed out that the probe on the flood-mitigation projects will soon be used as a cover-up by Marcos.

“Paniwala ko ginagawa nila yan para sabihin sa susunod na baha na tingnan nyo may ginawa kami. Pinaghahandaan niya lang yung excuse niya para sa susunod na baha (Believe me that they are just doing that so in the next flooding, they can say they’ve done something. He is just getting his excuse ready for the next flood),” she said.

Duterte stressed that even members of the House of Representatives—and not just government contractors—must be held responsible for the failed flood control projects.

“Well, lahat sila dapat. Hindi lang yung mga contractors dahil yung mga contractors ay mga tauhan din sila ng mga members of the House of Representatives (All of them [should be investigated]. Not only the contractors because the contractors are just personnel of the members of the House of Representatives),” she claimed.

The Vice President recalled that when she was Department of Education (DepEd) secretary, she already said that House Speaker Martin Romualdez and then-Committee on Appropriations Rep. Zaldy Co were the ones in control of the country’s coffers.

“Yung mga kasamahan nila o mga kagrupo nila, kasama din nila yon sa paghati-hati noong budget ng Pilipinas (Their allies also have their own shares in the Philippines’ budget),” Duterte alleged.

“Dahil nakita namin yon sa Department of Education. Nabanggit namin yon kay BBM na ganun ang ginawa pero noon ay wala siyang reaction tapos biglang ngayon meron na siyang reaction (We saw that in the Department of Education. We mentioned it to BBM but he did not react then, but now he suddenly has that reaction),” she added.

Marcos, in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July, called out contractors of the government’s failed flood control projects. He vowed to investigate and hold people accountable, then came up with a report that 20 percent of flood control projects worth P100 billion only went to 15 contractors.

During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s probe on Tuesday, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials admitted receiving reports of ghost projects in Bulacan, particularly in Calumpit, Hagonoy, and Malolos.

Related Tags

President Marcos flood control projects VP Sara Duterte DPWH contractors
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.