Malacañang on Wednesday said it wants an investigation into the 343 flood control projects in Cebu from 2016 to 2022, which could have helped the province during Typhoon Tino’s onslaught.
At a briefing, Palace press officer Claire Castro was asked for a reaction to Cebu Gov. Pam Baricuatro’s social media post calling out the government’s billion-peso flood control budget for the province.
‘P26 billion of flood control funds for Cebu, yet we are flooded to the max,’ she said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
At Wednesday’s briefing, Palace press officer Claire Castro said this was also what President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants to determine in the ongoing investigation into anomalous flood control projects.
‘It’s not just during the time of President Marcos Jr. that you should know about flood control projects because, as it was revealed earlier, our initial data is that 343 flood control projects were completed from 2016 to 2022 in Cebu from the 1st District, 2nd District, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th to the city,’ said Castro.
‘So, this should also be seen because if there were 343 flood control projects all along, they should have been working. So, let’s work together to find those who should be held accountable for these anomalous flood control projects,’ she also said.
The Palace official also encouraged the governor to provide any facts or data she has regarding these projects to help the government with its probe.
‘There are budgets allocated for this but it doesn’t seem to be working. So it’s better if he [Baricuatro] is angry; that’s what President Marcos Jr. feels too,’ Castro said.
Meanwhile, Castro said politics has no interference in the Marcos administration’s aid for Cebu even though Marcos and Baricuatro did not run under the same party.
‘Even if the President is not an ally, no matter what color that is, the President is ready to help anyone as long as the government’s help is needed, no matter what their. wherever they are allied, the President will help,’ she said.
‘Just recently, it was also reported that the President went to Cebu, and he was welcomed by the governor, who even thanked him for the immediate assistance provided by the President to the said city,’ she added.