Recto: Ghost projects cost economy P119 B

The Philippine economy could have grown by six percent if flood control projects had not been hijacked by corruption, resulting in a loss of as much as P119 billion in economic output, according to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s chief economic manager.

- DERCO ROSAL

While Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto is upbeat about hitting the midpoint of the new output growth goal of 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent, he lamented the serious drag corruption has on gross domestic product (GDP) expansion annually.

"For sure, [anomalies in flood control projects negatively impact growth]. We just learned that this is the extent of the problem in flood control. So maybe if that money was spent better, we could have grown by six percent. That's the point," Recto told reporters on the sidelines of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) briefing at the Senate finance committee on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

Corruption in flood control projects implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has caused an average economic loss of P42.3 billion to P118.5 billion from 2023 to 2025.