In 2025, the Philippines allocated more than PHP 254.3 billion to flood control — a sum larger than the entire budgets for social welfare, health, and agriculture. That figure alone tells you something about national priorities. But what makes it more troubling is what has come to light about where much of that money actually went. Congressional and Senate hearings have since exposed a system where funds meant to protect communities from typhoons and rising seas were instead siphoned off by contractors and politicians, leaving residents exposed when the next storm hit.
The Philippines is the Asia-Pacific country ranked first by the Asian Development Bank on climate vulnerability, and the world’s most disaster-prone nation according to the 2025 World Risk Index. An average of 20 typhoons pass through each year. Yet the very systems designed to respond to these threats — flood control infrastructure, environmental protection agencies, and climate adaptation funds — have become vehicles for systematic theft. Understanding how this happened, and what it means for pollution regulation and public safety, requires looking at where the money goes and who controls it.
How Budget Priorities Undermine Environmental Protection
The numbers paint a clear picture of where the government’s priorities lie. Out of the total Php 6.793 trillion national budget for 2026, the DENR receives only Php 29.3 billion — that is 0.43 percent. By comparison, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) gets 12.97 percent, making it the second-largest recipient after education. The Department of National Defense receives 4.4 percent. The disparity is not accidental; it reflects a governing philosophy that prioritises concrete infrastructure over ecological management, even when that infrastructure is poorly built or never completed.
Consider the National Greening Program (NGP), the government’s flagship reforestation initiative. It receives only Php 1.66 billion — less than 0.025 percent of the national budget. A recent investigative report found that since its founding in 2011, the NGP has failed to deliver on its promise of protecting forests and replanting deforested land with indigenous species. When an agency tasked with environmental restoration is given pocket change, the outcome is predictable.
The Flood Control Corruption Scandal: A System of Theft
In his 2025 State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told the corrupt to “have some shame.” It was a striking moment, because by then, the scale of the problem was already public. Congressional and Senate hearings had revealed that large amounts of flood control infrastructure funds were being siphoned off to contractors and politicians. Former Philippine Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio Jr. called it “the biggest corruption scandal in Philippine history” — an estimated PHP 118 billion (USD 1.95 billion) in stolen money.
The mechanics were straightforward. Politicians would endorse flood control projects in their districts, using the language of climate change to rally public support. Contracts worth billions of pesos were awarded to construction companies with political connections. In many cases, the projects were either substandard, faulty, or never built at all. Contractors like billionaire couple Pacifico “Curlee” II and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya were implicated. When typhoons Falmaegi (local name: Tino) and Fung-wong (local name: Uwan) pummelled the central and northern Philippines in 2025, hundreds died and millions lost their homes — despite billions of pesos supposedly spent on flood control.
The DPWH made headlines for its 9,855 flood control projects worth over Php 545 billion from 2022 to 2025. That is an enormous number of projects, and an enormous amount of money. But the hearings exposed a Pandora’s box of collusion between Philippine senators, district and party-list representatives, and construction companies. The public response was swift. Two multisectoral rallies — the #TrillionPesoMarch and #BahasaLuneta — drew crowds in Quezon City, Manila, and key cities nationwide. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines issued a pastoral letter encouraging the faithful to wear white during Sunday masses as a protest. Weekly academic walkouts began in universities across Metro Manila and key provinces.
Pulse Asia polling captured the public mood: 97 percent of Filipinos believe corruption in government is “widespread,” and 90 percent say government officials colluded in these anomalous flood control projects.
What Gets Missed: The Environmental and Human Toll
The corruption scandal dominates headlines, but it obscures a deeper problem: even when the money is spent as intended, the current approach to environmental regulation and disaster mitigation is fundamentally flawed. Three areas illustrate this clearly.
Manila Bay: Reclamation, Landfills, and Broken Promises
In mid-April 2025, haze enveloped the skies of north Metro Manila after a fire erupted in a closed landfill on reclaimed land in Manila Bay. The incident revealed something disturbing: a Manila Bay reclamation project had turned out to be a waste disposal site that became a hazard to marine habitats. President Marcos Jr. had suspended reclamation in 2023 after various sectors raised serious concerns, but it has since resumed. The government has yet to release its study on whether the project will negatively affect the environment. Meanwhile, the Php 1.24 billion allocated for rehabilitation of Manila Bay appears insubstantial given that harmful reclamation projects and dredging persist.
Solid Waste Management: A Growing Crisis, A Shrinking Budget
Only Php 349 million is set aside for solid waste management in the 2026 budget, despite a growing crisis reflected in Manila’s need to dump its garbage at the New San Mateo Sanitary Landfill. The Philippines generates millions of tons of plastic waste annually, much of which ends up in rivers and oceans. The budget for managing this is barely enough to operate a single large landfill for a year. When you consider that the DPWH receives more than 30 times the entire DENR budget, the mismatch between problem and response becomes stark.
Agriculture and Indigenous Communities: The Collateral Damage
Agriculture has been at its worst during Marcos Jr.’s presidency, gaining only 0.2 percent growth. For 2026, the “Build Better More” program receives Php 1.556 trillion, while agriculture gets just Php 239.2 billion. The China-funded Kaliwa Dam continues to devastate and displace the Dumagat-Remontado Indigenous People. In Barangay Paguludan-Salindeg in Currimao town, Ilocos Norte, the increase of solar farms has worsened heat and flooding. Renewable energy projects, often framed as climate solutions, are also accompanied by militarization and displacement of Indigenous Peoples. The pattern is consistent: environmental and social costs are externalised while infrastructure budgets balloon.
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| Sector | 2026 Allocation | % of National Budget | % of Climate-Tagged Funds |
|---|---|---|---|
| DPWH (Flood Control) | PHP 881.3 B | 12.97% | 76.7% |
| DENR (Environment) | PHP 29.3 B | 0.43% | 1% |
| Agriculture | PHP 239.2 B | 3.52% | 3.99% |
| Solid Waste Management | PHP 349 M | 0.005% | — |
What Can Be Done: Practical Steps for Accountability
The scale of the problem can feel overwhelming, but there are concrete actions that citizens, local governments, and civil society organisations can take. These are not theoretical — they are drawn from what has already been attempted and what the research suggests could work.
Track the Climate Expenditure Tagging System
The government’s Climate Change Expenditure Tagging (CCET) system is supposed to identify which budget items are directed at climate adaptation and mitigation. In theory, it provides transparency. In practice, it has been used to label DPWH infrastructure projects as climate spending, even when those projects are poorly designed or never completed. Citizens and watchdog groups can request CCET data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and compare it against actual project outcomes. If a flood control project is tagged as climate adaptation but fails to prevent flooding, that discrepancy is evidence worth pursuing. The People’s Survival Fund (PSF), which has a PHP 1 billion annual allocation, is another area to watch — the Department of Finance heads the board that oversees it, and its disbursement record has been slow.
Support the Independent Commission on Infrastructure
President Marcos Jr. created the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) to investigate corruption within the sector following the flood control scandal. While the commission’s independence and effectiveness remain to be seen, it provides a formal channel for reporting suspicious projects. Citizens can submit complaints or evidence of substandard infrastructure to the ICI. The commission’s findings, if made public, could form the basis for criminal prosecutions or budget reallocations. The key is to keep pressure on the commission to actually publish its findings and recommend prosecutions — not just file them away.
Engage with the “Conditional Early Action” Proposal
Senator Loren Legarda has proposed a “conditional early action” system that would disburse funds based on a forecast instead of waiting for a post-calamity assessment. This would allow communities to procure supplies and prepare for evacuation before a typhoon hits. The concept, known internationally as “anticipatory climate finance,” could empower communities by ensuring resources are prepositioned. However, as critics have noted, it could also be distorted in a bureaucracy that recently gained notoriety for allowing corrupt politicians to acquire ill-gotten wealth through kickbacks. Local government units (LGUs) can pilot this approach at the barangay level, with transparent procurement and community oversight, to demonstrate that it can work without being captured by corruption.
Participate in Public Protests and Civil Society Monitoring
The #TrillionPesoMarch and #BahasaLuneta rallies in 2025 showed that public pressure can force the government to respond. A follow-up protest was planned for 30 November 2025. Beyond rallies, civil society organisations like the Ateneo School of Government have produced detailed position papers on budget diversion. Citizens can join or support these organisations, attend weekly academic walkouts, or participate in the Catholic Church’s white-wearing protest during Sunday masses. The goal is to maintain visibility and demand accountability until concrete reforms are implemented.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the DENR get such a small budget? ▾
How was the PHP 118 billion flood control corruption discovered? ▾
What is the People’s Survival Fund and how does it work? ▾
Has the Philippines submitted its new climate targets under the Paris Agreement? ▾
What can an ordinary citizen do about this? ▾
Closing
The connection between corruption and environmental neglect in the Philippines is not a theory — it is a documented pattern visible in budget allocations, failed infrastructure, and preventable deaths. The flood control scandal exposed a system where billions meant for public safety were stolen, but the deeper issue is that even the money that reaches its intended purpose is often spent on the wrong things. Until the DENR receives adequate funding, until climate-tagged spending is audited for actual environmental outcomes, and until corrupt officials face consequences, the cycle will continue. The next typhoon season will test whether any of the promised reforms have taken hold. If this was useful, you might also want to read how mining operations further degrade water quality in the Philippines.
Sources
Tackling Pollution Laws in the Philippines — A broader look at the legal framework for environmental regulation and where enforcement falls short.
From Farms to Rivers: Agricultural Runoff in the Philippines — Examines another major source of water pollution that receives minimal regulatory attention.
Environment Budget Statement 2026. Citizens’ Environmental Coalition of the Philippines, 2026.
How Corruption Exacerbates the Climate Crisis in the Philippines. The Diplomat, May 2026.
Corruption Compromises Climate Resilience in the Philippines. New Mandala, 2025.
