ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Marcos urged to probe Bulacan officials in failed flood control projects

Marcos urged to probe Bulacan officials in failed flood control projects

Published Aug 24, 2025 11:35 am
A civil society group based in Bulacan has urged President Marcos to include provincial officials in the investigation of ghost projects and other anomalies involving flood control projects in the province.
Photo shows an unfinished section of a flood-control project along Pampanga River in Barangay Bulusan in Calumpit, Bulacan. (Santi San Juan)
Photo shows an unfinished section of a flood-control project along Pampanga River in Barangay Bulusan in Calumpit, Bulacan. (Santi San Juan)
In a complaint forwarded to Malacañang on Aug. 22, Tindig Kalikasan claimed that Bulacan has received billions of pesos in flood control funds in recent years — ₱6.5 billion for 668 projects in Central Luzon, with Bulacan as the top recipient.
Despite these project allocations, Tindig Kalikasan stressed that "communities in San Rafael, Angat, and Norzagaray continue to drown in yearly floods."
The group also cited illegal quarrying activities in the province, resulting in a "double tragedy."
“Bulacan has become the stage of a double tragedy: ghost flood projects that never worked, and quarry operations dressed up as flood control. The result is predictable — swollen rivers, scarred mountains, and communities left to drown while billions vanish on paper,” they said in the letter.
Marcos recently exposed that 20 percent of the entire P545-billion flood control projects since July 2022 were awarded to only 15 contractors, adding that five of them had contracts around the Philippines.
Tindig Kalikasan Bulacan said one of these projects was a ₱96-million dike rehabilitation in Calumpit which it described as substandard, half-done, and falsely reported complete. The incomplete project was inspected by the President last Aug. 15.
The group also asked the President to look into quarrying activities that also contribute to the widespread flooding in Bulacan.
According to Tindig Kalikasan, quarrying activities in Bulacan, particularly in Norzagaray and Doña Remedios Trinidad and other parts of Sierra Madre in the province should also be investigated for allegedly being masqueraded as part of the flood control projects.
They urged Marcos to hold accountable public officials that would be found to be liable for graft and corruption, starting with the suspension order to prevent them from influencing the investigation; and order the suspension of quarry-related and flood control projects.
“We submit this complaint not only as citizens, but as defenders of the environment and the people’s right to life, livelihood, and safety. Each year that Bulakenyos drown in floodwaters while quarry operators profit is a year of injustice prolonged,” they said.

Related Tags

President Marcos flood control quarrying Tindig Kalikasan Bulacan
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.