MANILA (May 20) — Questions over billions of pesos in flood control spending in Davao City have reached the doorstep of the Office of the Ombudsman after a lawmaker flagged dozens of projects allegedly riddled with overlapping contracts, missing specifications, unfinished work and possible ghost projects.
Antonio Tinio, House deputy minority leader and representative of ACT Teachers Party-list, formally asked Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla to investigate 80 flood control projects worth P4.44 billion implemented along the Davao and Matina rivers from 2019 to 2022.
The request followed an independent review by ACT Teachers Party-list covering 121 flood control projects in the city.
The findings painted what Tinio described as a troubling pattern of weak oversight and possible misuse of public funds in projects meant to protect communities from flooding.
Among the alleged irregularities cited were contracts covering identical river sections, projects allegedly funded twice under the national budget, and infrastructure built shorter than approved but reportedly paid almost in full.
The group also flagged 65 contracts worth P3.56 billion that allegedly lacked clear project lengths or station numbers — gaps Tinio said make physical verification difficult and could conceal ghost projects.
Another P623 million worth of projects allegedly had no corresponding authorization in the General Appropriations Act.
Tinio further raised concerns over at least 10 projects that remain unfinished years after their target completion dates.
Some projects, he noted, were paradoxically marked both “100 percent complete” and “ongoing” in government records.
One project — the Matina Pangi Bridge 3 flood control structure — was reported to be only 64 percent complete after five years.
The lawmaker also questioned the concentration of congressional insertions in Davao City’s 1st District, saying 49 of the 80 red-flagged contracts fell under that category.
He identified Genesis88 Construction Inc. as the top contractor among the flagged projects, reportedly bagging 10 contracts worth P713 million.
“These incomplete flood control structures leave Davao City residents vulnerable to deadly flooding,” Tinio said.
“The failure to deliver critical infrastructure — while contractors and officials potentially profit — may constitute criminal negligence,” he added.
Tinio urged the Ombudsman to prioritize physical inspections of projects with conflicting completion reports and unfinished structures, saying accountability is crucial as communities continue to face recurring floods despite years of multimillion-peso spending.
