THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the government is proposing a 26.08% reduction in flood-control funding to P274.9 billion in 2026.
According to the National Expenditure Program (NEP) — the document prepared by the Executive branch that serves as the basis for budget legislation, flood-control related funds for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are set to fall compared with the P346.6 billion allocation in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The DBM said the sharp cuts were the result of the removal of budget “insertions.”
“As a whole, the (NEP) budget of the DPWH went down compared to the 2025 General Appropriations Act,” Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman told reporters on Monday during her inspection of flood-control projects in Pampanga.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. singled out graft-ridden flood control projects during his State of the Nation Address last week, after consecutive typhoons submerged large parts of the country.
In his speech, the President ordered the DPWH to investigate flood control projects that failed during the recent storms, calling out widespread corruption in infrastructure spending and warning of criminal charges for those found responsible.
On Monday, the DBM visited the municipalities of Apalit and Arayat.
Apalit Mayor Oscar D. Tetangco, Jr. said the local government is currently dumping sand to mitigate flooding, adding that once rains resume, the sand is likely to wash away.
Ms. Pangandaman said the government can tap the DPWH’s fund for road maintenance and the Quick Response Fund, an emergency standby fund to support disaster preparedness, relief, and rehabilitation.
“Apalit, San Simon, Minalin, Santo Tomas — all of these are in the Pampanga 4th District. We still need P389 million. The Apalit portion is P166 million,” Ms. Pangandaman said when asked about the cost of road repairs in the province.
She also inspected the construction of flood mitigation structures of the eroded river bank in Barangay Candating, Arayat, which was destroyed last year.
The government has allocated P100 million for the project in the 2025 GAA.
The project remains with the contractor as it is still under warranty, the DBM said. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante