The House of Representatives should realign portions of the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 to finish flood control projects and prioritize disaster resilience initiatives, according to Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan.
Libanan said this during Monday’s plenary session when he delivered his turno en contra speech on the proposed national budget for 2026, revealing that minority lawmakers call for ‘realignment, accountability, and courage,’ so that the budget ‘may truly serve the people.’
‘We are a nation battered by typhoons, floods, and rising seas. Yet, the sense of urgency in this budget is lacking. Flood control projects, which could have shielded our communities, are too often delayed, riddled with questions and controversies, and now set aside. Locally funded flood control projects have even been removed from the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) national expenditure program,’ Libanan said.
‘Thus, after the investigations on flood control, it has become all the more urgent that we allocate the necessary funds to ensure these projects are finally completed. At a time when storms grow fiercer and storm surges threaten to wash away entire towns, we cannot afford for the budget to fall short in protecting our most vulnerable,’ he added.
Libana likewise pointed out that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) receives only P29.3 billion, or .43 percent of the proposed national budget for next year.
Broken down, the lawmaker noted that only P346 million was allocated for solid waste management, which he said is ‘considerably very small, in the face of Metro Manila’s garbage crisis.’
‘What we need is a comprehensive national solid waste management program, one that supports local government units with modern waste facilities, invests in segregation and recycling systems, and builds a real circular economy,’ Libanan claimed.
‘Without such a program, we are merely sweeping the problem aside, while communities struggle with mounting waste and pollution,’ he added.
Libanan further pointed out that while P983 billion is labeled as climate-related expenditures, 76.7 percent goes to the DPWH, 13 percent to the Department of Transportation, and barely 1 percent to the DENR.
‘This is climate budgeting by mislabeling. Most painful of all, our Pacific-facing provinces, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Southern Leyte, Surigao, Catanduanes, Bicol, Isabela, and Aurora, remain without seawalls, evacuation centers, or resilient infrastructure that shield the nation from every typhoon, yet they are left most exposed,’ he said.
Due to the controversies surrounding the flood control projects, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. had ordered the realignment of P255.5 billion intended for flood control projects next year to instead fund the priority programs of other government agencies
He said last month that it was ‘more necessary’ to fund other priority programs, hoping the realignment from the DPWH budget would send a signal to other agencies to curb graft and corruption in their turf.
The President’s allies in the House of Representatives apparently began to carry out his order.
On Sept. 24, the amendments and review subcommittee of the House committee on appropriations, now chaired by Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing, approved a report reflecting the redistribution of the P255.5 billion taken from the DPWH to different programs, with the health sector getting the biggest share.