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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Out-of-the-box idea amid DPWH mess': Military reacts to senator's suggestion to revive development arm for handling of flood control projects

'Out-of-the-box idea amid DPWH mess': Military reacts to senator's suggestion to revive development arm for handling of flood control projects

Published Sep 1, 2025 05:41 pm
Camp Aguinaldo (Photo: Martin A. Sadongdong/MANILA BULLETIN)
Camp Aguinaldo (Photo: Martin A. Sadongdong/MANILA BULLETIN)
The military expressed openness to an “out-of-the-box” proposal by Senator Robin Padilla to revive the National Development Support Command (NADESCOM) which could temporarily handle flood control projects amid an investigation into the reported anomalous infrastructure projects and reorganization at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Composed of military engineers and specialized units, the NADESCOM is considered the development arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). It was created in 2006 to fight insurgency by establishing infrastructure development projects for the benefit of the people in rural areas.
By partnering with private donors and local development units, the NADESCOM managed to build around 1,800 development projects consisted of school buildings, farm to market roads, health centers, rural electrification, bridges, pad walks, water systems, multi-purpose buildings and rain collectors before it was disbanded in 2014, according to Padilla.
Colonel Louie Dema-ala, Philippine Army (PA) spokesperson, said the activation and reactivation of military units is handled by the Department of National Defense (DND).
“However, the Philippine Army appreciates the trust placed by our national leaders and the public in our capability and integrity,” he told the Manila Bulletin on Monday, Sept. 1.
Dema-ala said that the Army’s engineering brigades “have long contributed to national development and disaster response” by working closely with national government agencies and other stakeholders.
When the NADESCOM was disbanded due to redundancy of functions and a shift in AFP priorities, its members were distributed to the Army’s five Engineering Brigades across the country, as well as different AFP unified commands and civil-military operations group (CMOG) to continue their mission.
“We stand ready to support this initiative while remaining focused on our core mission of defense and nation-building,” Dema-ala stressed.
The AFP has yet to respond to queries by this reporter about the matter.
In a Senate session on Monday, Sept. 1, Padilla asked Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson if it was possible that the handling of flood control projects be temporarily delegated to the military, an institution trusted by the public after DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan resigned from his post over the multi-billion-peso flood control mess hounding his agency.
“Ang aking pong mungkahi, dahil ngayon po ay marami po ang pinag-resign ng ating mahal na Pangulo, bilang hindi naman po pwede na itigil ang mga flood control projects, hindi po ba pwede na ito munang NADESCOM ang magtuloy ng mga flood control projects na mga nasira o mga na-ghost? Sa palagay po ba na niyo, pwede ba nating silang pagkatiwalaan?” Padilla asked.
(My suggestion, since many have been asked to resign by our beloved President, and since we cannot simply stop the flood control projects, couldn’t NADESCOM temporarily take over the flood control projects that were abandoned or left unfinished? Do you think we can entrust them with this task?)
Lacson supported the proposal, saying the Senate could suggest the idea to Marcos so that an executive order (EO) would be issued to revive the NADESCOM.
“Pwede natin imungkahi sa Pangulo ng Pilipinas na mag-issue uli ng EO para mabuo uli ‘yung sinasabi niyo na NADESCOM (We can suggest to the President of the Philippines to issue another Executive Order to reestablish the NADESCOM you mentioned),” Lacson said, praising Padilla for the out-of-the-box suggestion.
He said the Senate could include in the 2026 budget deliberation the realignment of budget towards the DND or AFP to fund the proposal for the revival of NADESCOM.
“Sana makarating ito sa Palasyo at magawan ng karampatang aksyon (I hope this reaches the Palace and that appropriate action will be taken),” Lacson said.

Related Tags

AFP NADESCOM flood control DPWH Senate Senator Robin Padilla Senator Ping Lacson Philippine Army
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