Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Wednesday, August 19 called for a continuity of flood control master plans noting how master plans of previous administrations are often discarded by their successors.

Caritas Philippines calls for accountability amid recent flood control scandal, urging government transparency to protect vulnerable communities from further injustice. (MARK BALMORES / MANILA BULLETIN / file)

Such actions, the senator said, are leaving ordinary Filipinos to continue suffering from the effects of flooding.

“Dapat may continuity, multi-administration. Dapat nagko-cross ng administrations ang plano kung ito'y maayos. Pwede siguro mag modify, mag-adapt sa bagong sitwasyon sa pagbabago ng panahon, pero nandiyan ang basic master plan kung paano tutugunan ang problema ng pagbaha (There should be continuity and the master plan should be multi-administration in scope. It must be designed to cross administrations. Minor modifications can be made over time to adapt to new situations, but the core of the basic plan must remain),” Lacson said in a Radio DZBB interview.

The senator said he finds it imperative that a flood control master plan being crafted must not only be technically comprehensive but also be designed to span multiple administrations to ensure continuity despite changes in government.

Lacson noted that during then President Benigno Aquino III’s administration, then Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson drew up a master plan for flood control, but this was disregarded by the succeeding Duterte administration.

“Natandaan ko si Sec. Singson naka-craft na siya ng master plan di ganun kalaki ang gugugulin, mas matipid, systematic at mapigilan ang baha. Ang problema pagpalit ng admin nawala na. Nabasura ang planong ginawa ng dating admin. Ganun din ang mga sumusunod, kanya-kanyang paggawa ng plano (I recall Singson crafting a master plan that was cost-efficient and systematic. But when there was a change in administration, that plan was discarded. This has been the pattern where each administration insists on having its own master plan),” he said.

Had Singson’s master plan been followed, the senator said some of the P1.939-trillion poured into the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) alone for flood control could have been avoided or used more efficiently.

Lacson noted that funding for flood control projects rose sharply across successive administrations: from 2011 to 2016, funding stood at P183.546-billion, and eventually increased to P748.417-billion from 2017 to 2022, and surged to P1.0066-trillion from 2023 to 2025.

To this, Lacson expressed hope civil engineers can lend their forensic expertise and play a major role in establishing accountability, not only for flood control projects, but for other infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges as well.

He called on civil engineers' associations to organize inspection teams that can examine roads, bridges and other infrastructure damaged by recent floods, and determine through forensic analysis whether the damage was due to structural design or implementation.

“Manawagan tayo sa association ng civil engineers, dapat siguro sila kumilos na mag-inspection. O kung may gumuho, magpapunta sila ng member doon kung may association sila, i-forensic nila ano kakulangan base sa kanilang kaalaman. Kung nagkulang sa structural design o implementation dapat habulin ang contractor (We can call on associations of civil engineers to help in the inspection of infrastructure, including those damaged by recent floods. They can use forensics to determine if the damage stemmed from faulty structural design or implementation),” Lacson said.

“Wala kasing napapanagot. Kung talagang hahabulin, balikan ang ginawa five years ago or ilang taong nakalipas (As of now, no one is being held accountable. If we are to go after those responsible, we must start inspecting projects implemented in the last five years or so),” he pointed out.

Such forensic inspections could help establish responsibility and identify those who should be held accountable, including contractors, DPWH officials, and politicians who proposed the infrastructure projects, he stressed.

“Dapat yan isa-isa balikan at habulin ang contractor, DPWH officials, kung sinong pulitiko nag-propose ng infra project na yan, hindi lang flood control (The infrastructure projects must be inspected, and the contractors, DPWH officials and politicians who are proponents of the projects must be held accountable),” the senator said.

This accountability drive should cover not only flood control projects but also other infrastructure projects whose failures may have been exposed by recent flooding, he added.