ASEANEWS HEADLINE-GRAFT & CORRUPTION | MANILA: ‘Up to 60 percent of flood control costs lost to corruption’
Stranded commuters wade through waist-deep floodwaters as motorists move their vehicles to elevated ground near the Zapote Junction Flyover in Las Piñas on July 22, 2025./ Edd Gumban / The Philippine STAR
What Ridon said on lawmakers allegedly involved in corruption over flood control funds
Lacson details ‘pass-through’ graft scheme
MANILA, Philippines — Up to 60 percent of funds for some public works projects may be lost to graft and other leakages before construction even begins, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday as he bared alleged crooked schemes in flood control and infrastructure programs.
Lacson said the practice, referred to by contractors as “passing through,” requires payment of five to six percent of a project’s cost when the construction takes place in a legislative district where the lawmaker is a contractor or has relatives in the contracting business.
“For example, if a contractor builds a project in the district of a lawmaker who is a contractor or who has relatives that are contractors, he/she must pay a five-percent ‘passing through’ fee, like a toll. That already deducts from the cost of the project. This is known in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH),” Lacson told radio dzBB.
“The fee is usually five percent, but sometimes it goes up to six. Based on the information we got from contractors, the project is compromised. How will the contractor be compensated if he/she does not use substandard materials or take shortcuts? The government is thus shortchanged,” he added.
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After factoring in these fees, along with taxes and commissions, “not even 40 percent” of the budget remains for actual construction, Lacson said.
This, he added, often leads to shortcuts – such as building only 50 meters of a dike instead of the required 150 meters, driving sheet piles just three meters deep instead of six, or skimping on gravel and sand mixtures – resulting in weak structures that fail during cyclones.
“The dike will be easily damaged because the contractor scrimps on materials,” Lacson said.
Lacson said such arrangements also reduce contractors’ profit margins from 15 percent to 10 percent.
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“People die during floods brought by cyclones. That is the worst part,” he said.
Lacson added that he is keen to see the DPWH’s list of flood control projects submitted to Malacañang.
“Will congressmen-contractors found liable be actually punished and face charges?” he asked.
Lacson also recounted how some House members contacted him after reports surfaced that he had a list of 67 lawmakers engaged in contracting. He clarified that he does not keep such a list.
“They told me that not all their contracts are with government, and most are with private companies. I chuckled and said I don’t have a list and I didn’t know they or their relatives were contractors until they told me,” Lacson said.
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