Marcos says zero allocation for flood control projects in 2026 budget

"Ayusin nila. Eh 'di mag-usap kami after that. Pero before that, ayusin nila, buuin nila. Up to specification, at their cost. Huwag naman sila mag-expect [for] the government to pay for it," he said.

Marcos also rejected the idea of the House of Representatives' plans to "return to sender" the Department of Budget and Management's budget proposal for 2026.

"No," he said. "It's not a possibility. Ang titingnan na lang is the DPWH budget. Unilaterally, from our end in the executive (branch), I already instructed the DPWH to review and to rewrite the DPWH budget. We have a commitment to Congress that the rewritten DPWH budget will be submitted to them."

House Deputy Speaker Ronnie Puno called the proposed P6.793 trillion national budget for 2026 "poorly constructed," saying there were items for flood control projects that had been completed already even if ongoing and priority programs have no allocation.

House and Senate probes

Marcos said he doesn't mind if the House or Senate are conducting their respective probes into the flood control project issue.

"Prerogative ng House of Representatives 'yan na magconduct sila ng imbestigasyon, prerogative ng Senado na magconduct sila ng imbestigasyon," he said. "So, patuloy natin. Pag may masusing imbestigasyon, kahit papaano, may makukuha rin tayo diyan. Baka makatulong din."

Nevertheless, a separate commission he's forming will do its own investigation.

"All the other organs of government, I'm sure, will play their part in finding the truth to all of this," he said.

In the first part of the podcast uploaded on Sunday, Sept. 7, Marcos said the investigating commission is "completely separate from government," and will have "all the powers that are necessary" for it to come to a conclusion or findings about the issue.

He refused to give the members' names of the commission, which he said would have no formal name.

Asked whether involved lawmakers must inhibit from the investigation, Marcos responded, "Eh wala namang aamin na may kaugnayan sila, 'di ba, kahit sino? So, hindi sila mag-iinhibit. Saka wala naman power ang executive sa legislative."

Bigger fish

Ahead of top government contractor Curlee Discaya's corruption accusations against several congressmen, governors, and mayors during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Sept. 8, Morales noted that several names have already been floated and that cases are being filed against them.

Asked how far it will take to penalize erring officials—specifically congressmen, governors, and mayors—Marcos said, "Until we solve the problem."

Marcos noted that there must be hard evidence against the accused officials, and that there must be significant changes once these individuals get "out of action."

"I suppose the description that is sometimes used is 'yung big fish talaga, 'yung nagpapatakbo," he added. "Tatanggalin natin ang mga player na 'yan, kahit sino man sila."

As to whether these officials will be punished despite being supporters of him, Marcos said, "Wala talagang kawala dito sa campaign na ito. Wala talaga tayong magagawa. The truth has to come out."

"Nagbubulag-bulagan tayo, nagbibingi-bingihan tayo. Kaya tayo nagkakaganito," he added.

Massive flooding in July

The issue in the government's flood control projects began in July as the rains triggered massive flooding in the metro. 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.

Marcos, in his fourth State of the Nation Address, called out government officials involved in the would-be corruption in flood control projects.

Marcos ordered the DPWH to "immediately submit" to him the list of flood control projects from every region that were started and completed in the last three years. He said a project monitoring committee will evaluate this list to determine the failures, as well as the unfinished and ghost projects.

Days later, Marcos 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.