SC asked: Declare BSKE postponement unconstitutional

After receiving a handwritten complaint from a concerned citizen about a "poorly built" dike in Calumpit, Bulacan, President Marcos personally inspected the embankment yesterday and ordered its contractor and involved government officials to explain why the project failed to prevent flooding.

- ELIZABETH MARCELO

Marcos talked to residents living near the dike before checking the structure.

In a media interview, the President demanded explanation from St. Timothy Construction Corp., the contractor for the rehabilitation of the river protection structure along Barangay Bulusan in Calumpit.

"St. Timothy was the contractor here.

We'll look into it. They need to answer why this happened. They better come here to see the hardship they brought to our countrymen," the President said.

"Unbelievable, this has been going on for years," he said.

Marcos was joined by local officials led by Gov. Daniel Fernando.

St. Timothy Construction Corp. is one of the 15 major contractors that Marcos identified as having cornered 20 percent or about P100 billion of the total P545 billion worth of flood control projects nationwide in the past three years.

Marcos said initial inspection showed the dike appeared to have not followed the right specification of materials, and there also appeared to be gaps in the dike that made it incomplete.

Scuba divers were dispatched to assess the flood control project. They reported that the concrete underwater was of varying thickness and was shoddily built. The divers also reported that steel reinforcements were not driven into the river so water still flowed underneath.

Marcos said he learned that dredging or desiltation has never been conducted as part of the flood control project, contrary to records. The area, he said, looked like a swamp even weeks after the heavy monsoon rains have stopped.

"What possible excuse do they have for not doing these? I can't think of any," Marcos said.

Based on the website sumbongsapangulo.ph, the project has a total cost of over P96.4 million and was completed on Feb. 12, 2023.

The website was launched by Marcos early this week to allow citizens to directly report to him any non-operational or anomalous flood control projects in their areas.