MANILA (September 2) – Senator Christopher “Bong” Go on Monday, September 1, urged the government to prioritize the establishment of evacuation centers instead of implementing failed or anomalous flood control projects during the Senate hearing of the Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations.
“I call on the Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH) to prioritize this law (referring to Republic Act No. 12076) instead of implementing failed flood control projects. Dapat inuna ninyo na itong mga evacuation centers dahil batas na ito, at mapapakinabangan pa ng ating mga kababayan natin tuwing merong nababaha at nababagyo. Ito talaga ang mapapakinabangan ng mga nababaha,” Go said.
Senator Go is the principal author and co-sponsor of RA No. 12076 or the Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act, mandating the establishment of safe and fire-resilient evacuation centers in every municipality and city nationwide.
The Ligtas Pinoy Centers, according to Senator Go, will safeguard the dignity and well-being of disaster-affected communities while accelerating recovery efforts.
“Sa reported PhP1.2 Trillion budget for flood control from 2022 to 2025, ang puwede pong maitayo na evacuation centers kung binigyan ninyo ng prayoridad ay 60,000 evacuation centers,” Go explained.
The senator added that, with the abovementioned budget, all 1,493 municipalities and 200 cities would have established their evacuation centers.
Meanwhile, the Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman told Senator Go that the DPWH allocated PhP 3.6 billion in the Ligtas Pinoy Centers in the 2026 National Expenditure Program during the briefing by the Development Budget Coordination Committee in the Senate the same day.
“About less than 1% po ng PhP 1 Trillion (referring to the flood control project from 2022 to 2025). Importante po itong evacuation center dahil gamit na gamit po ito sa mga totoong nabahaan,” Go reacted.
To recall, Senator Go earlier called out ghost projects, subpar infrastructures, and questionable allocations for flood control that have profited a few but largely failed to protect the Filipino people.
As Vice Chairperson of both the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, Go called to make those involved in failed and ghost flood projects accountable.
“Panagutin natin lahat ang responsible dito. Imbes na flood control, ang mayroon tayo ay mga floods out of control. Kapabayaang out of control! Bastusan na out of control,” Go underscored.
Go stressed that the issue of the anomalous flood-control project is not just a corruption issue but a question of injustice.
“Nakakalungkot at nakakagulat na ang pondo ng bayan posibleng napunta lamang pala sa kamay ng iilang nagpayaman at nanamantala. Nagpabusog habang ang mga kababayan natin ay nahihirap at nagugutom,” Go said.
In this connection, Senator Go expressed confidence in the appointment of Secretary Vince Dizon as the new DPWH Secretary.
“I hope he succeeds in rooting out corruption in DPWH and implements projects that can truly benefit Filipinos,” Go said.
“Mula noon hanggang ngayon, galit po tayo sa korap at mapang-abuso. Dapat lang panagutin natin ang may sala para matigil na ang ganitong nakakasukang kalakalan sa gobyerno,” Go concluded.
