3 days ago
Flood control deals proposed to get P274.9 billion in 2026
'For the flood control projects, what we have for the 2026 National Expenditure Program… the total is P274.926 billion,' Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said at a press conference following the turnover of the 2026 NEP to the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
The budget allocation for addressing the perennial flooding problem in the country has been trimmed in the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 amid President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr.'s scrutiny of flood control projects.
'For the flood control projects, what we have for the 2026 National Expenditure Program… the total is P274.926 billion,' Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said at a press conference following the turnover of the 2026 NEP to the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
The amount was divided between the Department of Public Works (DPWH, which will receive the bulk of the allocation at P272.333 billion, and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) with P2.593 billion.
The proposed P274.9-billion allocation for flood control projects was lower compared with the about P350-billion earmarked in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Pangandaman said the approved amount for flood control projects was proposed by the two agencies.
The Budget chief further added that the flood control projects proposed by the DPWH and MMA had "proper planning and corresponding FS (feasibility studies) and studies."
Pangandaman said the flood control projects may be expected to be completed and put up in the proper places.
Marcos flagged a total of 6,021 projects amounting to more than P350 billion that did "not specify the exact type of flood control structures built, repaired, or rehabilitated.'
The President also revealed that 20% of the total P545 billion budget of flood control projects for 2022 to 2025 was awarded to only 15 contractors. –NB, GMA Integrated News
