Quezon city: Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Monday voiced dismay and outrage as the city government uncovered more anomalous flood control projects that cost billions of people’s money, which she said could have helped so many people ‘if only used correctly.’
According to Philippines News Agency, at a press conference Monday, Belmonte said that from the 254 questionable flood projects initially reported by the city government last Aug. 29, the number ballooned to 331, with the projects reaching a total of PHP17 billion. Belmonte stated that this amount could have covered other projects for the benefit of residents.
The mayor elaborated on the potential impact of the misused funds, noting that the amount could have addressed the city’s classroom shortage, built PhilHealth-accredited centers, or provided housing units for informal sector families. She highlighted that over 50 percent of the projects would have been completed if the funds had been allocated to the city’s science-based and data-driven drainage master plan (DMP), developed by experts at the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute (UPRI).
However, Belmonte revealed that PHP14 billion of the PHP17 billion were spent on projects that contradicted the city’s DMP. She emphasized the frustration and anger stemming from the misuse of funds, which could have significantly improved the lives of many residents.
The questionable projects were managed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) from 2022 to 2025 and were marred by issues such as uncoordinated efforts, missing documents, and projects falsely marked as completed. City Engineer Mark Dale Peral reported inspecting 265 projects, with several found to be incomplete or incorrectly documented.
Peral also identified numerous issues, including location errors, missing coordinates, and projects with construction debris present on-site. Additionally, projects were found with identical Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) and contract amounts, and some were built directly on waterways, obstructing the flow.
In response to these findings, Belmonte signed a memorandum of agreement with Mahar Lagmay of UPRI and the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers-QC Chapter to explore redesigning the questionable projects to prevent further wastage. She affirmed the city’s willingness to cooperate with independent or national investigations, including those led by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the Senate.