Monsoon rains brought by the southwest monsoon inundated several major thoroughfares across Metro Manila on Monday, disrupting roads and leaving motorists and commuters wading through floodwaters. España Boulevard reached 24 inches of water near M. Dela Fuente Street, while portions of Rizal Avenue and Abad Santos Avenue became knee-deep. In Quezon City, floodwaters reached 26 inches along A. Bonifacio Cloverleaf and parts of Araneta Avenue, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority. The renewed flooding arrived just as the government proposed P107.4 billion for flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways for 2027.
Budget Restorations and Allocations in the 2027 National Expenditure Program
The proposed P107.4 billion allocation marks the return of flood control spending to the national budget after funding was reduced to zero in the 2026 national budget. That reduction followed multibillion-peso corruption in 2025 that led to criminal charges against several former and incumbent lawmakers and Department of Public Works and Highways officials. The broader P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 was submitted by the Department of Budget and Management to the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Education continues to receive the largest share of the proposed spending plan, with P1.314 trillion allocated to the sector, equivalent to 18% of the 2027 National Expenditure Program. The Department of Public Works and Highways received the second-largest allocation at P644 billion, with flood control funding accounting for 16.17 percent of the total. Additional allocations include P353.8 billion for the Department of Health, P332.5 billion for the Department of the Interior and Local Government, P328.8 billion for defense, P302.2 billion for transportation, P261.7 billion for agriculture, and P241.6 billion for social welfare.
Acting Budget Secretary Robert Kim de Leon explained that the restored funding includes P19.6 billion set aside for ongoing foreign-assisted projects and another P3.41 billion allotted to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority for the upkeep of flood-mitigating structures such as pumping stations. We cannot simply neglect flood control projects already started… it won’t be of benefit if those projects remain unfinished,
De Leon said in a briefing after the turnover ceremony at the House, noting that the allocations emerged after talks to resume funding for maintenance and unfinished works.
Legislative Interrogations Over Padding and District Distribution
At a House of Representatives Appropriations Committee hearing on Monday, lawmakers questioned the size, distribution, and vulnerability to insertions of the proposed flood control allocation. Party-list Rep. Antonio L. Tinio questioned Budget Acting Secretary Kim Robert C. de Leon over whether project amounts could be altered during congressional deliberations.
Tinio added, This is what enables massive insertions.
He cited foreign-assisted projects under the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Works and Highways as examples of allocations proposed at higher levels in the National Expenditure Program but later reduced in the enacted budget. De Leon responded that the Department of Budget and Management’s proposed amounts for foreign-assisted projects were based on its assessment of actual project requirements, noting that figures in the National Expenditure Program were even lower than amounts initially requested by implementing agencies.
Lawmakers also raised questions regarding the geographic distribution of the proposed projects. Tinio pointed out that of the 197 district engineering offices under the department, only 113 have flood control projects in the proposed budget, noting the absence of proposed flood control projects across the Davao Region despite its experience with flooding. De Leon stated that the budget department’s evaluation relied on project proposals submitted by the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Vetting Mechanisms and Anti-Corruption Measures
In response to the corruption scandals that removed flood control from the previous year’s budget, officials stressed that the 2027 proposals underwent intense scrutiny. De Leon noted that the administration subjected proposed funding to strict checks to ensure projects are not “ghost” projects, stating that authorities will verify the status of each work using satellites rather than relying solely on contractors’ progress reports.
Batangas Rep. Ryan Christian S. Recto raised concerns over capital spending implementation and asked whether mechanisms exist to prevent underspending while capital outlays increase by 13.8%. De Leon replied that infrastructure projects were subjected to closer scrutiny concerning the completeness of documentary requirements.
Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reported last month that nearly P25 billion in assets linked to the flood control scandal had been recovered, frozen, or preserved, with more than P800 million returned to the national treasury. Separately, the Department of Justice stated it had recovered more than P841 million in cash from alleged ghost flood control projects as of July 29.
Criticism From ACT and Concerns Over Classroom Shortages
ACT sharply criticized the revival of the flood control budget while public schools face severe infrastructure deficits. ACT chairperson Ruby Bernardo condemned the allocation, arguing that restoring hundreds of billions of pesos to flood control without recovering all stolen public funds amounts to an insult to citizens.
The group cited initial Department of Education figures showing that about 8,000 schools and 6 million learners had experienced learning disruptions, while more than 200 schools were utilized as evacuation centers. Department of Education damage assessments identified 1,157 schools with reported damage, encompassing 3,936 minor-damaged classrooms, 1,346 major-damaged classrooms, and 1,301 totally damaged classrooms. Tinio similarly questioned whether flood control spending should be prioritized over urgent needs like classrooms, noting that the government targets constructing only about 700 classrooms in 2027 despite a nationwide shortage of roughly 160,000 classrooms.
Upcoming Congressional Review and Scrutiny Timeline
The House of Representatives faces a tight schedule for reviewing the proposed budget following the submission submitted by the Department of Budget and Management on Tuesday. Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing, who heads the House appropriations committee, stated that the chamber will perform another round of vetting to examine proposed flood control projects and use provisions from the 2026 General Appropriations Act to scrutinize flood control projects during deliberations.
Ederson Tapia, a political science professor at the University of Makati, noted that Congress will likely not only scrutinize the budget more closely but exercise greater caution, particularly given the alleged involvement of some of its own members in the flood control controversy. House budget deliberations begin on August 17, with lawmakers aiming to secure final approval by October 9.
