DAILY TRIBUNE sent a photographer to Calumpit, Bulacan, to document the situation there amid the wasted flood control projects that have lit the fuse of President Ferdinand Marcos III.

A livid Marcos said he was “angry” and “extremely disappointed” after finding a project in nearby Baliwag, Bulacan, which had been marked “100 percent complete” and fully paid for, based on government records, did not exist.

What met the lensman’s eyes was the deplorable situation in the municipality, which lives in a world of water after an intense rain.

The inundation predictably happens after considerable rains despite P2.18 billion in projects to end the blight over the past three years.

Accountability falls heavily on members of Congress, mainly Senators, in the insertion of multibillion-peso flood control projects like those in Bulacan during the bicameral conference committee (Bicam) phase of the national budget process, which has come under intense scrutiny due to allegations of corruption and mismanagement.

The Bicam, tasked with reconciling differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget, operates with significant discretion, often leading to last-minute insertions of projects, including flood control initiatives.

The recent Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings exposed anomalies in these projects, particularly in Bulacan, where “ghost projects” and substandard works were linked to contractors like Wawao Builders, awarded P5.9 billion in Bulacan alone.

Senators, as Bicam members and leaders, hold substantial influence over project allocations.

Such discretion enabled the insertion of projects favoring specific contractors or regions, sometimes bypassing planning or flood-prone area prioritization.