Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, Jr said on Monday that he will be ordering a review of the government’s flood control projects and reprimanded government officials that have been profiting from them.
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“I recently inspected the effects of the southwest monsoon and cyclones Crising, Dante and Emong. I clearly saw for myself that many flood control projects had been failures or those that were not sturdy and easily crumbled, and then there were those that were just ghost projects,” Marcos said in his fourth state of the nation address (SONA), where he reported on the administration’s priorities for the next 12 months, as well as his agenda for his six-year term.
Floodwaters from last week’s back-to-back southwest monsoons and tropical cyclones Crising, Dante, and Emong left at least US$87 million worth of damages to infrastructure, about US$9 million in agriculture losses, and at least 30 lives lost.
The Philippines has spent about US$35 billion in flood control projects over the past 15 years. This year’s budget for climate change initiatives has allocated a record US$17 billion, approximately US$5 billion of which was proposed specifically for flood control, making it the single largest identified line item for the fund.
Marcos, Jr warned those who conspired to pocket the nation’s funds: “Shame on you. Be ashamed because our fellow Filipinos were swept away by floods or were submerged in floodwaters. Be ashamed of our children who will inherit that debt incurred because of what you committed.”
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr delivers his state of the nation address in Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on 28 July, 2025. Image: Presidential Communications Operations Office
He said the Department of Public Works and Highways will submit to him a list of all flood control projects from every region that were started or completed in the last three years. The list will be published so that locals who witness the construction of these projects can freely scrutinise and share what they know that will help in the government’s investigations, he said in a 70 minute-long speech delivered before lawmakers, former presidents, and diplomats.
There will also be an audit and performance review regarding the projects to verify how taxpayers’ money was spent, he added.
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The president called out corrupt officials over failed flood control but ignored the biggest offenders: fossil fuel companies profiting off the suffering of Filipinos.
Virginia Benosa-Llorin, senior climate campaigner, Greenpeace
Virginia Benosa-Llorin, senior climate campaigner of watchdog Greenpeace, called the president’s speech “far too myopic.”
“The president called out corrupt officials over failed flood control but ignored the biggest offenders: fossil fuel companies profiting off the suffering of Filipinos,” Benosa-Llorin said in a statement.
“This SONA showed that the president remains blind to the true perpetrators of the climate crisis,” she said.
“A crackdown on crooked local officials is necessary but he should not have stopped there. Major oil and gas companies are the top contributors to climate change, reaping trillions in profits annually while Filipinos are caught in a cycle of devastation, displacement, and rebuilding. Where is the political will to confront these companies?”
Solar power and electrification of rural areas
The Philippines will roll out solar power home systems to more than a million households by the end of his term in 2028, said Marcos, Jr in his address.
Households using solar may also sell the excess electricity they generate to the power grid by setting up a net metering programme, to be fast-tracked by the Energy Regulatory Commission, he added.
He also vowed that about 200 new power plants will come online by 2028, providing electricity to four million homes, 2,000 factories and 7,000 businesses, in a bid to ramp up rural electrification.
Department of Energy officials visit SIPCOR, the only power supplier in Siquijor province in the Visayas’ Negros Island, to monitor the steps being implemented for a long-term solution to their electricity supply. Image: Department of Energy
He cited how the power crisis gripping the island province of Siquijor in the Visayas’ Negros Island Region will not be repeated elsewhere.
The prolonged electricity shortage on the tourist island caused mainly by malfunctioning generators operated by its sole power supplier has put it under a state of calamity.
About 2 per cent of the country still does not have electricity, with efforts focused on remote households, especially areas like Mindanao, the Negros Island region, Luzon’s Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan, alongside various isolated villages in the Cordilleras and other mountainous or island areas. These remote locations often require alternative off-grid solutions rather than traditional grid extensions.
However, despite proclamations on renewable energy, the administration has prioritised natural gas, with the recent approval of a law that promotes natural gas to investors as a “transition” fuel to intermittent renewable energy.
Ther Philippines is one of the countries leading the charge in planned natural gas projects in Southeast Asia, with a dozen other proposed projects in the pipeline. There are currently six gas plants in operation in the Philippines.
Marcos, Jr called for “discipline, vigilance and bayanihan (a spirit of civic unity and cooperation among Filipinos)” in his speech to help the government achieve its goals. But instead of placing the burden of disaster response on climate-vulnerable Filipinos, he should turn his attention to genuine solutions that address the root of climate change, said Krishna Ariola, energy and climate programme head of research institution Center for Energy, Ecology and Development.
“This includes rapid emission cuts achieved by phasing out fossil fuel reliance, and raising our ambitions for renewable energy,” she said. “President Marcos’ administration cannot keep approving and profiting from climate-polluting projects like coal and gas plants and then expecting Filipinos to bear the brunt of disasters with bayanihan.”
