Infra corruption risks big-ticket projects

The economic team of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has cautioned that the flood-control corruption scandal may slow down progress on the much-touted Build Better More (BBM) infrastructure program.

- BY BEN ARNOLD DE VERA

In its Fiscal Risks Statement 2026 published on Thursday, Dec. 11, the Cabinet-level, interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) noted that no less than the President himself jump-started the probe on “ghost” and substandard flood-control projects during his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July.

The DBCC said that this resulted in the 4.5-year low third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth of four percent, making the impact of the President's directive to investigate flood-control anomalies immediately felt by the economy.

“This was also evidently seen in the disbursement performance as of end-September 2025, wherein spending for capital outlays fell short by P111.3 billion (9.4 percent) from the P1.181-trillion program for the period.

This was due mainly to the contraction in the spending of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH),” which was the lead implementing agency rolling out flood-control infrastructure, said the DBCC.