"Yung kaluluwa nila sinusunog na sa impyerno (Their souls are already being burned in hell)."

Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan did not mince words as he condemned the officials and contractors behind the anomalous flood control projects across the country.

In a media interview, the senator and chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform lamented how the agriculture sector and its workers suffer the most during calamities.

Pangilinan stressed that flood control projects are critical to public safety, particularly in low-lying and disaster-prone communities.

"Whenever there's a disaster, the biggest damage is to infrastructure and agriculture, especially in flood," he said in Filipino.

The senator lamented that non-existent and substandard flood control projects fail to protect farmers from the devastating impact of flooding and typhoons.

He cited how a 150-hectare rice land in Oriental Mindoro is now buried under rocks and cement after the collapse of several substandard flood control projects in the area.

"So, that has a direct bearing. I said these people are not dead yet, they are still alive but their souls are already burning in hell," he stressed.

"This should really be investigated and these addicts punished. You’re kidding me about that trillion, right?" he added.

Pangilinan reiterated his support for the creation of an independent investigative body by law.

He proposed that the commission be led by former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Rogelio Singson and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales.

The senator also urged President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to appoint an Ombudsman who would go after the contractors and officials involved.