CEBU’S P17.4-BILLION WATERLOO: WHEN FLOOD CONTROL BECAME A CRIME SCENE

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — November 8, 2025

THE CORPUS DELICTI: P17.4 BILLION FOR A WATERY GRAVE

Over 100 corpses float in the Butuanon River’s rage.
Thousands displaced.
Entire subdivisions swallowed.
And in the middle of this man-made apocalypse?

P17.44 billion of taxpayer money—179 flood control projects across four rivers from 2016 to 2025—gone like a bad joke.

This isn’t “Typhoon Tino.”
This is Treason with a Capital “T”.
This is murder by concrete and corruption.

The Butuanon River alone swallowed P11.1 billion.
Promise: “Decongest water flow. Protect lives.”
Reality: Umapad and Paknaan underwater. Villa del Rio turned into a demolition derby. A viral video shows cars surfing floodwaters like it’s Gubat sa Cebu: The Ride (SunStar Cebu).

Mananga River? P2.39 billion.
Shanties under the bridge crushed like soda cans.
Cotcot and Cansaga? P580 million combined—and still, roofs became swimming pools.

This isn’t an “act of God.”
This is an act of graft.
And the crime scene is the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) ledger.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS: A ROGUE’S GALLERY OF GRAFT

The Bureaucratic Ring: Architects of Failure

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon (Sept 2025–present): The capo di tutti capi who inherited a rotting empire and did nothing.
DPWH Region VII Director Danilo J. Villa Jr.: The regional godfather who signed off on every ghost dike (DPWH Directory).
Project Engineers & BAC Members: The foot soldiers who certified “completion” while the rivers laughed.

They are the DPWH Mafia—a syndicate of rubber stamps and revolving doors.

The Contractor Cabal: The Quirante Clan & Their Ilk

BNR Construction & Development Corp.
Quirante Construction Corp. (yes, the Dumanjug dynasty that cornered ¼ of Cebu’s flood projects)
ZLREJ Trading & Construction Corp.
QM Builders (Allan Quirante’s zero-profit miracle that won P7.38 billion in contracts)

These aren’t contractors.
These are license borrowers, substandard sorcerers, and ghost project alchemists.

Governor (Gov.) Pamela Baricuatro nailed it:

“Irregularities since 2019… borrowed licenses… ghost projects.” (SunStar Cebu)

She submitted the dossier to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).
But where’s the blood on the floor?

The Political Enablers: From Malacañang to Mandaue

Past administrations (hello, Gwendolyn Garcia era) who feasted on unprogrammed funds.
Former DPWH Secretary Mark Villar (2016–2021): The golden boy of Duterte’s Build-Build-Build who oversaw billions in flood control allocations—including Cebu’s early ghost dikes—now summoned by the ICI to explain why his “reforms” (drones? Really?) didn’t stop the Quirante cash grab. Oh, and that task force probing your family’s “prohibited interests”? Tick-tock, Senator (Rappler).
Local execs who let quarrying bald the mountains and shanties choke the rivers.
Mayor Aljew Frasco (Liloan): Blames Cebu City uplands. Sir, your town drowned too.

This is systemic rot—from national budget insertions to barangay-level blindness.

**Kweba ni Barok just turned on the floodlights.**

THE LAW AS A BLADE: A PROSECUTOR’S PLAYBOOK

Let’s stop whining.
Let’s indict.

Republic Act (RA) 3019, Section 3(e): Undue Injury via Gross Negligence

Every DPWH official who certified completion of a non-existent dike just confessed to graft.
Penalty: 6–15 years. No bail. Sandiganbayan.

RA 9184: Government Procurement Reform Act

Rigged bidding.
License-borrowing.
No performance bonds enforced.

Blacklist them. Forfeit bonds. Sue for recovery.

RA 7080: Plunder Act

The Quirante clan alone bagged billions.
If P50 million in kickbacks is proven? Life imprisonment.
Estrada v. Sandiganbayan (2001): Series of acts = plunder.

RA 6713: Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees

DPWH engineers who accepted “gifts” (read: envelopes) violated Section 4(a): Justness and Sincerity.
Dismissal. Forfeiture of benefits. (RA 6713)

Supreme Court Precedents: The Gavel Has Spoken

People of the Philippines v. De Guzman (G.R. Nos. 274863 and 275057-59): Ghost projects = graft. Conviction upheld.
Garcia v. Sandiganbayan (G.R. No. 197204, 2014): No intent? No problem—gross negligence suffices.

The legal cudgel is sharpened.
Swing it.

**DEMAND CONSEQUENCES: NO MORE “BANGON” BULLSH*T**

IMMEDIATE ACTIONS

Suspend ALL implicated DPWH officials—from Dizon to the janitor who signed the logbook.
Blacklist BNR, Quirante, ZLREJ, QM Builders—permanently (Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB)).
Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC): Freeze their assets. Now. (AMLC)

LEGAL ACTIONS

Office of the Ombudsman: File cases within 30 days. (Ombudsman)
Sandiganbayan: Fast-track trials. (Sandiganbayan)
Commission on Audit (COA): Forensic audit of EVERY contract. Public release. (COA)

SYSTEMIC REFORMS

Mandatory third-party engineering audits—independent, not DPWH lapdogs.
Full contract transparency—geotagged photos, as-builts, test certificates online (PhilGEPS).
Overhaul RA 9184: Ban family-owned contractors from the same province.
Watershed enforcement: Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) + Local Government Units (LGUs) = jail for illegal quarrying.

THE FINAL INDICTMENT

Cebu did not drown because of rain.
It drowned because P17.4 billion was stolen, squandered, and slapped together with spit and prayers.

The dead demand justice.
The displaced demand blood.
The taxpayers demand heads.

No more “bangon” mentality.
Only “bakit?”
Only “sino?”
Only “kulong.”

To the Ombudsman, ICI, Sandiganbayan:
Do your job. Or we will do it for you.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
And Kweba ni Barok just turned on the floodlights.