The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bicol (KMB) and Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan (AMB), chapters of farmers group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMB) exposed the massive failure and corruption behind flood control projects in Bicol region and Bulacan, which despite billions of pesos allocated, have left farmers and communities repeatedly devastated by widespread and prolonged flooding.

Government records reveal that Albay has 273 flood control projects, Camarines Sur has 252, and Sorsogon has 125. Yet these three provinces remain among the most severely affected by destructive floods since 2024. Instead of providing protection, many of the projects have turned out to be defective, unfinished, substandard, or completely useless. Farmers and residents continue to suffer, while public funds are wasted.

The same situation is seen in Central Luzon. In Bulacan alone, at least 198 flood control projects were funded between 2022 and 2024, with a combined allocation of more than Php9.3 billion. Many of these involve dike rehabilitation along the Angat, Sta. Maria, and Pampanga river basins. Yet the province remains chronically submerged during heavy rains and typhoons. Farmers from the municipalities of Calumpit, Hagonoy, San Miguel, and Bocaue reported that so-called rehabilitation of river dikes and drainage systems have either collapsed, remained uncompleted, or were repeatedly re-contracted despite already being declared “finished.”

What is more alarming is that several areas in both Bicol and Bulacan have been the site of repetitive and overlapping projects worth hundreds of millions of pesos, already declared as completed but failing to prevent devastating floods. A glaring example is the Construction and Rehabilitation of San Agustin Flood Control Dike in San Agustin, Libon, Albay, where four projects were supposedly completed. Another is the Construction of Flood Control Structure along the River Dam Section in Barangay Sta. Cruz, Libon, Albay, implemented by Albay Ramarplus Incorporated (formerly Ramar Enterprises), with a total contract cost of Php144,750,000.00 between 2022 and 2024.

In Bulacan, similar anomalies were documented in flood control works along the Angat River, with projects costing hundreds of millions but showing no impact in reducing the inundation of farmlands and barangays. Farmers pointed to the dike rehabilitation in Calumpit and Hagonoy as a glaring case of waste, with structures already damaged or washed away just months after “completion.”

KMB and AMB called on Bicolanos and Bulakenyos to rise, speak out, and demand accountability from those responsible for these fraudulent projects. The groups said that Senators, Congressional representatives, local government units, construction firms, and most especially the Department of Public Works and Highways must be held liable for failed and anomalous infrastructure that endangers the lives and livelihoods of thousands of farmers and residents.

As typhoon and Habagat season once again lashes the country, the people of Bicol and Bulacan remain defenseless. Recently, Tropical Storm Crising and the Habagat monsoon rains submerged vast areas of farmland and communities, further aggravated by mudflows and boulder-laden floods from quarrying sites at the foot of Mount Mayon in Guinobatan, Albay, and by the collapse of weak flood structures in Bulacan.

“Public funds must go to genuine protection and safety for the people, not into the pockets of corrupt politicians, contractors, and foreign interests,” KMB and AMB said. The farmers’ groups called for an end to bogus flood control projects. ###