Donnalyn Bartolome raises concern about PH flood control issue at 2025 Septimius Award in Amsterdam
Donnalyn Bartolome highlighted the flood control issue that the Philippines has been facing, as she won Best Content Creator at the 2025 Septimius Award in Amsterdam.
The social media creator took to Instagram to celebrate the milestone on Sept. 12. In her acceptance speech, Bartolome said that she makes content to "inspire," and that she loves making people happy and funding causes.
"I'm from the Philippines [...] I just want to share with you that one of the most heartbreaking issues we face back home are the floods. Every year, communities are displaced and lives are lost, and it's a cycle we've been stuck in for far too long," she said.
"I've always believed that prevention is better than cure. While we hope and continue to push for our government to do better [regarding] our flood control systems, we're also taking action by planting trees and bamboo."
Bartolome then went on to urge the public to plant trees for the environment. She also shared that the non-profit organization Influence Us Foundation has planted 1,000 trees.
"[Please] plant at least one tree in your lifetime, just one. It's a simple act of love for the one home that we all share, our planet," the content creator continued.
Bartolome has over 10.1 million subscribers on YouTube and 7.1 million followers on Instagram.
Flood control mess
The issue in the government's flood control projects began in July as the rains triggered massive flooding in Metro Manila. At the time, Sen. Ping Lacson told dzBB that since 2011, about P1 trillion allocated for flood control projects may have been lost to corruption.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in his fourth State of the Nation Address, called out government officials involved in the would-be corruption in flood control projects.
He ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways to "immediately" submit to him the list of flood control projects from every region that were started and completed in the last three years.
Marcos later launched the "Sumbong sa Pangulo" website, where the public can track and report anomalous flood control projects and other possible corrupt practices.
According to the website, there are 9,855 flood control projects totalling P545.64 billion since July 2022. Of that number, 6,021 projects worth over P350 billion don't specify the exact type of flood control being built, while several others in different locations also have the same contract cost.
Marcos also said there are 15 contractors that exclusively bagged 20% of all flood control projects worth P100 billion in the last three years.
The Senate and House of Representatives have begun their respective probes into the anomalous flood control projects.
Newly minted DPWH Sec. Vince Dizon, meanwhile, on Sept. 11, filed criminal complaints against officials of the Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office and four private contractors linked to the said projects.
