Senate Committee Presents Partial Report on Flood Control Project Corruption

The Senate blue ribbon committee has issued a partial report on corruption in flood control projects.

The partial report circulated among committee members as early as February. Only seven senators had signed it as of May 5, two short of the number needed for formal filing and sponsorship. Lacson stated that the scandal stemmed from large sums of money, weak controls, and complicit oversight. He described the scheme as a network that exploited existing bureaucratic systems.

The report states that the corruption reflects changes in the pork barrel system. Funds appeared in forms such as allocables, leadership funds, and insertions, and extended to unprogrammed appropriations. The case of the Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office served as an example of how funds were diverted through interconnected systems.

Lacson said the effects reach beyond financial losses to democratic institutions and public trust.

Several key witnesses entered the Witness Protection Program. These include former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, former District Engineer Henry Alcantara, former NCR Regional Director Gerard Opulencia, and contractor Sally Santos. The executive branch ordered a nationwide review of flood control projects.

The Office of the Ombudsman filed multiple cases before the Sandiganbayan. The Department of Justice pursued cases involving alleged ghost projects in Bulacan. Investigations by the National Bureau of Investigation and financial probes by the Anti-Money Laundering Council produced criminal complaints and asset freezes.

More than 21.8 billion pesos had been frozen as of April 30.

The committee seeks to remove allocables and leadership funds from the budget. It also proposes amending the Ombudsman law, defining beneficial ownership and conflict of interest, and setting stricter penalties for corrupt practices. Other proposals include digitalizing asset declarations, strengthening whistleblower protection, and recalling Commission on Audit personnel from assigned agencies to ensure independence.

The report outlines possible criminal charges including malversation, bribery, violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, plunder, money laundering, falsification, perjury, and bid rigging. The committee will resume hearings to examine the paper trail of allocables and leadership funds and the possible involvement of other officials.

It will again invite former House speaker Martin Romualdez and seek the appearance of former Ako Bicol representative Zaldy Co if he returns to the country. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier announced that Zaldy Co had been arrested in Prague. The Philippine government later confirmed that he had been released, left Prague, and reportedly applied for asylum in France.