THE GRISLY FAILURE of flood control projects (FCPs) to stop flooding and deaths in Central Visayas during Typhoon Tino is now blamed on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
ACT Teachers Representative and Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio revealed that P9.2 billion worth of FCPs that failed to stop the disaster was approved by the Office of the President.
Tinio emphasized that the 115 flood control projects were from Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA) under the full control and can only be green-lighted by Marcos Jr.
In his visit to Cebu on Friday, Marcos said he was “very, very sorry” for the high number of fatalities.
“We are all sad because our casualty figures are very high,” he told reporters at a press briefing at the Cebu provincial capitol.
But Tinio said Marcos Jr. must account for the failure of his approved FCPs to save the lives and property of citizens.
“He is directly accountable for these projects and must acknowledge and explain why these failed to mitigate the devastation,” Tinio said.
As of yesterday, the Office of the Civil Defense reported that the death toll has risen to 224 with 135 still missing from this week’s floods in Cebu and Negros islands during Typhoon Tino.
Tinio said that Cebu received the most number of Marcos-approved projects with 102 projects, costing P8.43B in 2023 and 2024.
Negros Oriental had three projects worth P145M while Negros Occidental had 10 projects worth P630M over the same period.
Tinio underscored that UA-funded projects are systematically abused for graft and lack transparency:
“All 102 UA flood control projects in Cebu, worth P8.43 billion, lack even basic details. This is corruption by design. How can the public verify a project with no specifications?” he asked.
“UA is a slush fund for corruption, responsible for deaths and devastation in Cebu and other areas hit by Typhoon Tino. Billions were supposedly spent, yet communities were left defenseless,” Tinio charged.
Tinio called for a comprehensive congressional investigation and the abolition of UA.
“Unprogrammed Appropriations must be abolished. Across the country, the result is the same: billions stolen, communities left vulnerable, lives lost,” Tinio ended. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
