QC flags P14-B flood projects done without permits, coordination

The Quezon City government has raised alarm over more than P14 billion worth of flood control projects carried out in the city without permits or coordination with City Hall, with Mayor Joy Belmonte calling them anomalous and wasteful.

In a press briefing Friday, Belmonte said an audit of 93 flood control projects and 1,652 Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects from 2021 to 2025 revealed serious irregularities.

“Billions of pesos were wasted here. If there was real political will to resolve flooding, this amount would have been enough to address the problem,” she said.

City Engineer Mark Dale Peral reported that out of 1,652 DPWH projects, only 315 were submitted for coordination, and of these, only 138 were approved. The rest—1,337 projects—had no application for a certificate of coordination, a requirement under city ordinances.

Inspections further revealed questionable practices: 16 projects with identical contract costs, 25 with identical budgets, mislabeled and mislocated works, projects declared complete but still under construction, and even a P350-million pumping station in Matalahib Creek that reportedly cut water flow by 70 percent, worsening floods. One project along the San Juan River was split into 66 phases.

“These projects were implemented in outright violation of our ordinance and even the Water Code,” Peral stressed. He also confirmed that seven of the 15 contractors earlier flagged by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for irregularities are active in Quezon City.

City Legal Officer Carlo Lopez Austria warned that officials and contractors found violating the law may face administrative cases such as grave misconduct, or even criminal liability.

Belmonte urged Malacañang and Congress to pursue reforms that would strengthen local government oversight on national projects.

“I feel frustrated and angry because it’s as if local governments are being disrespected, when the Local Government Code is very strict about our autonomy,” she said, adding that the city will submit a full report to the Palace to aid its ongoing probe.