Flood control projects under Duterte admin ‘free’ from corruption

A viral Facebook personality, now with over 1.5 million views, claims that flood control projects under former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration were free from corruption and construction inconsistencies. The post shows an area protected by a flood wall, with the caption praising Duterte’s projects as “klaro way kurakot, klaro ang agi, dili mubaha, dili muawas. Tanawa” (“There’s no corruption, the work is clear. It doesn’t flood, it doesn’t overflow. Look at this.”)

CLAIM: Flood control projects during the Duterte administration were well-constructed and untainted by corruption.

RATING: FALSE

CONCLUSION: The reel overlooks corruption and inefficiencies that affected Duterte’s flood control projects under the “Build, Build, Build” program, despite the administration completing thousands of structures.

The facts:

• The reel, one of the personality’s many posts praising Duterte’s infrastructure projects, overlooks the corruption that plagued the former administration’s flood control management under the “Build, Build, Build” program.

• From 2017, the budget for the infrastructure program rose from 5.4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to 7.4 percent in 2022, reaching a total of Php 8.4 trillion over five years. 

• A report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism noted that the program’s massive cost led to implementation inconsistencies as politicians and public works officials colluded with unqualified contractors.

• Marked as a key priority, Duterte boasted of a total of 11,340 completed flood mitigation structures since June 2016. Some of these projects were marred by delays, spending controversies, and political favoritism during their construction.

• In a privilege speech on July 25, Senator Panfilo Lacson said that only 40% of the flood project funds were being used for actual construction as he detailed how corruption has run deep in the country’s infrastructure projects for years. 

The bottom line: The viral post exaggerates and misrepresents Duterte’s flood control projects. While the administration completed many structures, corruption, political favoritism, and implementation inconsistencies undermined the claim that these projects were flawless and corruption-free.