Various multi-sectoral organizations are planning to file a multibillion-peso civil class suit over alleged anomalies in flood control projects in the country.
In an interview with radio dzBB yesterday, Ariel Inton, president of Lawyers for Commuters Safety and Protection, said they will start with the filing of a civil case for damages in Quezon City, where hundreds of flood control projects were discovered to have been implemented without proper coordination with the city government.
He projected that the civil case would amount to between P1 billion to P5 billion.
Among the respondents, he said, were the four lawmakers from Quezon City who were tagged by the Discayas as allegedly involved in the corruption scheme – Representatives Arjo Atayde (district 1), PM Vargas (district 5) and Marivic Co-Pilar (district 6), and former district 4 representative Marvin Rillo. The four have denied the allegations.
Inton said the class suit will also include the Discaya couple and their companies, former public works secretary Manuel Bonoan, local Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials, resigned Ako-Bicol representative Zaldy Co and former speaker Martin Romualdez.
‘We can’t interfere with the plans of the government’s prosecutorial bodies to file criminal cases (against these individuals),’ he said in Filipino.
‘But the disruptions and hardships that people experienced. who will compensate them? Will the filing of a criminal case compensate these people, those directly affected? No,’ he added.
Inton said they will start with Quezon City as they already have data on the extent of the anomalies. He cited the city government’s report showing that over 300 projects worth around P16 billion were not coordinated by the DPWH.
Inton said they are now compiling the necessary documents for exemption from paying docket fees, which he said could reach millions, given the amount of damages that they intend to claim.
‘Retribution plus restitution’
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson urged the government to adopt a ‘retribution plus restitution’ approach in holding accountable those behind the multibillion-peso flood control and infrastructure anomalies, saying taxpayers could potentially recover at least P26 billion from the ongoing investigations.
Lacson said that of the P629 billion worth of flood control projects contracted between 2023 and 2025, at least 421 have been identified as ‘ghost’ projects based on inspections by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police and Department of Economy, Planning and Development composite team.
That accounts for 5.26 percent of the total, he noted, suggesting that a similar pattern across the remaining projects could yield billions in recovered funds.
‘If all those responsible – contractors, politicians and DPWH officials – will return just 80 percent of their loot after a plea bargaining agreement in exchange for shortened jail terms, easily the Filipino people can recover at least P26 billion,’ Lacson told radio dzMM.
‘Imagine the hundreds of billions in taxpayers’ money that we may be able to recover out of all the other similarly corrupted infrastructure projects,’ he added.
He emphasized that recovery efforts would depend heavily on the political will of agencies leading the investigations, including the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Department of Justice and the judiciary.
‘The government may direct its investigation toward this formula. For instance, you cannot expect those involved to cooperate without plea bargaining. Although plea bargaining is not common in the Philippines, the lawyers of the government and those involved can pursue that,’ he said.
‘But there should be no compromise because we are talking about restitution plus retribution. No one should go free just because they returned their loot. That is very unfair,’ he added.
Lacson stressed that the government could also recover more funds by going after the insurance companies of the anomalous projects, saying the same framework could apply to other sectors such as farm-to-market roads, school buildings and multipurpose structures.
Following his resignation as chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, Lacson said he would now focus on the deliberations for the 2026 national budget while continuing his duties as Senate President Pro Tempore and chair of the committees on accounts and on electoral reforms and people’s participation.