Poe asks why the 2021 budget for flood control is higher than the funding proposed by DOH

MANILA – Sen. Grace Poe on Thursday questioned why the 2021 budget allocation for flood control projects was P18.78 billion higher than the proposed funding for the Department of Health (DOH), which is leading the Philippines’ fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID) -19).

Under the proposed 2021 spending bill, at least P150 billion is earmarked for flood control projects, while DOH only gets P131.22 billion as proposed, Poe noted during Senate budget deliberations.

“Given that COVID-19 is still present, it could be assumed that including our healthcare facilities would be the priority,” the senator said.

“Environmental factors shouldn’t be neglected and there really are some legitimate flood control projects, but there are some flood control projects that are questionable because it’s hard to keep track of them if they were actually done,” he said.

The amount allocated for flood control projects “is not absolute” and can be reviewed by Congress, said Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado.

“We need to strike a balance between health and the economy, but we are not saying that we are absolute in our calculations,” he said.

Poe said he would raise the issue during the Department of Public Works and Highways budget hearing to clarify why flood control projects garnered a larger share of public funding during the global pandemic.

Former House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya previously called flood control projects the “new cash cows” of corrupt politicians and contractors because it is difficult to inspect whether or not contractors followed the depth and height of the required foundation of the anti-flood walls.

According to the 2019 budget, nearly a quarter of the P544.5 billion in funds proposed by the DPWH was allocated for flood control programs, Andaya said.