Billions of pesos have been poured into flood control systems meant to protect Iloilo City — yet many Ilonggos are still wading through murky floodwaters each time the rains pour.
From 2022 to 2025, the Iloilo City District Engineering Office (ICDEO) implemented 40 flood control and mitigation projects worth more than P4 billion, based on congressional records. The rollout included eight projects in 2022, twelve in 2023, nine in 2024, and eleven ongoing for 2025 — the largest and most expensive batch, totaling P2.4 billion.
However, despite the massive spending, over 30 barangays across the city’s seven districts — Arevalo, City Proper, Jaro, La Paz, Lapuz, Mandurriao, and Molo — remain flood-prone even without typhoons. Ordinary monsoon rains and easterly downpours have been enough to submerge homes and streets.
In La Paz district, longtime residents said they have learned to live with flooding as a part of daily life.
“We just want to see these projects work. We’ve been flooded too long already,” a resident said, recalling countless sleepless nights spent moving furniture and belongings to higher ground.
A confidential report revealed that construction firms linked to the Discaya family — St. Timothy Construction, St. Gerard Construction, Alpha & Omega, and YPR — emerged as the biggest beneficiaries of the 2025 flood control contracts, cornering P526 million worth of projects this year alone.
In 2024, the same firms also secured P374.6 million worth of contracts, cementing their dominant hold over the city’s flood control allocations.
The revelations have fueled growing public frustration, with many residents questioning how such massive investments could yield so little visible impact.
Mayor Raisa Treñas, in her 2025 State of the City Address (SOCA), broke her silence on the issue, demanding accountability from agencies and contractors behind delayed or ineffective projects.
“If there are failed and delayed projects, including flood control works that caused flooding in our city — someone must be held accountable,” Treñas declared before the city council and department heads.
She also echoed President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s call for stronger coordination between national government agencies and local government units (LGUs) before implementing major infrastructure projects.
“We welcome the President’s directive. Projects must not just look good on paper — they must protect our people and improve lives,” the mayor said.
As another rainy season looms, Ilonggos continue to hope that the city’s multi-billion flood control efforts will soon deliver what they were built for — safety, not just statistics.
