Flood control funds to be restored in proposed 2027 budget — Palace

MANILA, Philippines — Funding for flood control projects will be restored in the proposed national budget for 2027 after receiving zero funding last year due to a corruption scandal, Malacañang said.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro on Tuesday confirmed that previously halted flood control projects may still be included in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2027, depending on their validity and actual need for completion.

The executive branch, specifically the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), prepares the NEP, which serves as the blueprint for the government’s expenditures for the following year. It is submitted to Congress as the basis for the General Appropriations Bill, which is then passed by Congress and signed into law by the president as the General Appropriations Act.

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Castro said the government is currently reviewing whether suspended flood mitigation projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are legitimate and necessary, especially those that were stopped due to irregularities or lack of implementation.

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“It depends, because if that is a legitimate flood control project that was only stopped due to non-implementation — if it became ghost projects but still needs to be done— then it has to be funded,” she added.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday assured funding for flood control projects in the 2027 NEP to spare communities from devastation due to typhoons and heavy rains.

These include the construction and rehabilitation of cutoff channels, dikes, drainage structures, flood mitigation facilities or structures, retarding basins, revetments, slope protection structures, spur dikes, waterways, or embankments.

READ: New DBM chief vows no repeat of flood control scandal

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“This is part of the budget, and we will ensure that it will not be touched when it undergoes the budget process,” Marcos told reporters in Cebu following the inspection of the rehabilitation of the Mananga River in Talisay City.

“We will continue what we are doing so that there will be no repeat of the impact of the typhoons, river overflows and floods,” he added.

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When asked how the administration intends to prevent a repeat of large-scale corruption in flood control spending, Castro said the government is implementing tighter monitoring and review mechanisms.

“President Marcos promised there will be no repeat of the flood control mess,” she added.

The Malacañang official also said DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon was appointed to the agency to ensure reforms were made in the agency.

The DBM, under Secretary Kim Robert de Leon, also committed not to release any single cent to flood control projects that fail compliance and planning standards.

READ: Marcos: Zero budget for DPWH flood control projects in 2026

During the height of the corruption scandal in September 2025, Marcos ordered a zero budget for locally funded flood control projects as the DPWH and DBM conducted a sweeping review of the DPWH’s proposed budget in the 2026 NEP.

The move slashed the entire P250-billion proposed funding for the DPWH’s flood management program, significantly reducing the agency’s approved 2026 budget to P504.3 billion from the P881.3 billion it originally requested. With a report from Andre Esguerra, intern

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