FIRING LINE: Marcos’ flood problem

FIRING LINE: Marcos’ flood problem

By Robert B. Roque Jr | August 11, 2026

As Congress opens deliberations on the 2027 budget, the government faces an uncomfortable reality: underspending. And perhaps not entirely by accident. After hundreds of billions of pesos were swallowed by ghost flood-control projects and other corruption scandals, agencies now appear hesitant to spend, wary that the next project might become the next headline.

But rain does not wait for procurement.

This past weekend’s relentless habagat rains once again submerged parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces. As of the latest NDRRMC count, 261,048 people were affected and six lives lost due to typhoons Luis and Maya. Roads disappeared under water, communities were evacuated, and dams in Benguet were forced to open their gates as water levels neared critical limits.

We have seen — and feared — these scenes too many times before: from Ondoy in 2009 to Carina in 2024, and now yet another chapter in the same story. The script never changes.

Yes, climate change is intensifying our rainy seasons. But we cannot keep blaming the weather alone.

Garbage continues to clog drainage systems and river channels. Unchecked urban development and deforestation erode our watersheds. Rising sea levels heighten the vulnerability of coastal communities. These problems are neither new nor mysterious — and neither are their solutions.

What is new is the scale of public distrust. Funds meant to address flooding have instead been siphoned off by corruption — by villains far worse than any comic-book foe, and all too real within our own government.

So the question now is this: how do we move forward when the very system meant to protect us has been compromised?

The answer cannot be to stop spending.

As one analyst rightly warned, government must avoid swinging from reckless spending to chronic underspending — or worse, bureaucratic paralysis. Accountability is essential, but low utilization should prompt scrutiny, not automatic budget cuts.

Floods do not forgive delay.

What remains of the country’s few conscientious officials must now step up—tightening scrutiny over public spending while strengthening oversight. Congress, in particular, must perform its duty with far greater rigor.

We already know what needs to be done.

First, clear the garbage choking our drainage systems and waterways.

Second, protect and rehabilitate watersheds while placing stricter controls on development and deforestation.

Third, fast-track flood-control and drainage projects that are properly planned, thoroughly vetted, and genuinely necessary—not ghost projects disguised as infrastructure.

Fourth, address escalating risks in coastal communities, especially those driven by rising sea levels.

And finally, ensure that every peso counts through stricter procurement processes, tighter monitoring, and more effective congressional oversight.

President Bongbong Marcos has less than two years left in his term to turn things around. That will require more than rhetoric — it will demand political will, discipline, and a clear break from the failures that have defined flood control under his watch.

The rains will keep coming. The only question is whether government will finally be ready.

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