A Question of Spending
As heavy monsoon rains inundated parts of Metro Manila and other regions on Monday evening, August 17, Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson took to social media to highlight a stark contrast between government expenditure and outcomes. In a post on X, Lacson wrote: "FLOOD CONTROL VS UNCONTROLLED FLOOD: PhP1.939 trillion funded the DPWH flood control management program under three presidents from 2011-2025 and the result is uncontrolled flood."
According to Lacson, historical data on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood management spending under the Aquino, Duterte, and Marcos administrations shows a steady increase, with annual funding breaching the P100-billion mark in 2018. The figures he cited include P11.323 billion in 2011, P139.001 billion in 2018, and P372.814 billion in 2025.
Last year, Lacson noted that the DPWH had spent more than P1 trillion on flood management over the previous 15 years—around P350 million a day—yet the problem persisted. The senator has since exposed several anomalous flood control projects, particularly in Bulacan and Mindoro Oriental, through privilege speeches and hearings with the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. Recently, he and his team uncovered anomalous slope protection projects and illegal reclamation activities in Taguig City, the political bailiwick of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano. Lacson said he has turned over all related evidence to the Office of the Ombudsman for further investigation and prosecution.
Government Response and Long-Term Plans
In response to the ongoing flooding, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon announced on Monday that the DPWH is studying long-term interventions for Bulacan, including a more comprehensive flood-control plan that would address the problem beyond individual projects. "We need a comprehensive plan," Dizon said, as the government moves to determine the structural and environmental factors behind the province's recurring floods.
Dizon and Cabinet Secretary Benhur Abalos personally visited flood-hit communities in Hagonoy and Paombong, Bulacan, following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s order for a hands-on assessment of the province's decades-old flooding problem. The visit came amid renewed scrutiny of flood-control infrastructure in Bulacan, where communities continue to be inundated despite the construction of dikes, seawalls, and other structures over the years.
The Vulnerability of Hagonoy
Hagonoy is particularly vulnerable. The municipality is a low-lying, flat coastal area facing Manila Bay and is exposed not only to heavy rainfall but also to high tides, river flooding, and backflow. The provincial government's own development and physical framework plan classifies Hagonoy, along with Calumpit and Paombong, as very high-risk areas for flooding, identifying their low-lying terrain as a major reason water easily accumulates during heavy rains and tropical cyclones.
The problem is also bigger than rainfall alone. Hagonoy sits within the Pampanga River delta system and can receive so-called back-flooding as water from upstream areas in Pampanga and Nueva Ecija moves toward Manila Bay. Officials and experts have long identified the interaction of river flows, tides, coastal flooding, and land subsidence as major challenges for the area.
The severe flooding that struck in August prompted a province-wide declaration of calamity in Bulacan, highlighting the alarming scale of the region's water crisis. The disaster was fueled by the enhanced southwest monsoon and the passage of tropical cyclones Luis and Maymay. In Hagonoy, floodwaters surged up to 1.82 meters deep in some neighborhoods, with the Department of Social Welfare and Development assessing that some 62,000 families were severely affected by the prolonged flooding. The province's planning document estimates that more than 105,000 people in Hagonoy are exposed to flooding.