'P40-B ODA funds for flood control slashed from budget'

A total of P40.2 billion, out of the P49.1 billion total allocation in Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) funds for flood control projects in 2024 and 2025, have been lost to budget "diversions," an independent lawmaker revealed over the weekend.

- DELON PORCALLA

Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab said these ODA funds have been "slashed and removed" from the National Expenditure Program of the Marcos government for two fiscal years: 2024 and 2025.

He said allocations for the two succeeding years included "11 large-scale, high-impact ODA projects with a combined allocation of P21.6 billion in 2024 and P27.5 billion in 2025," or a total of P49.1 billion for two consecutive years.

Ungab said the P21.6 billion allocation for 2024 was carried into the General Appropriations Bill, but was cut by P5.49 billion during the House of Representatives' deliberations on third reading, and "later completely deleted" during the Senate and bicameral conference stages.

The former deputy speaker during Rodrigo Duterte's presidency disclosed that the P27.5 billion allocation for 2025 was "slashed by P18.6 billion in the House-approved version, with only P8.9 billion retained."

Ungab said the final General Appropriations Act (GAA) for 2025 set aside P9.2 billion, representing a 67 percent reduction from the original proposal.

He said these projects were "secured signed loan agreements endorsed by the Development Budget Coordination Committee and backed by sovereign guarantees, and designed to strengthen flood risk management, enhance climate resilience, and protect economic centers and vulnerable communities."

Ungab said this is mostly the reason why he wanted Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co-who is reportedly seeking medical treatment in the US to explain what really happened, and why these "significant budget cuts and eventual removal of major ODAfunded flood control projects" took place.

"As a former chairman of the committee on appropriations, I know the importance of carefully planned and vetted OD projects. The rationale for deleting or reducing these flagship projects must be explained," Ungab said.