Flood Control Spending Freeze Drags On as Palace Says Cases Remain Under Investigation

Malacañang said flood control corruption cases remain under active investigation, more than a month after the scandal escalated into criminal charges against a former House Speaker and other officials.

The government has kept flood-control spending effectively frozen through 2026 as more than 2,000 ongoing flood infrastructure projects undergo tighter scrutiny, a pause officials say is necessary to weed out ghost and substandard projects before releasing further funding.

The prolonged freeze has had measurable economic costs: government economic managers have pointed to the flood control spending pause, and the broader chill in investor confidence it caused, as a factor pulling third-quarter growth down toward the 4% range — well below the government’s original targets for the year.

Officials have not given a timeline for when the spending freeze might be lifted, saying releases will resume on a project-by-project basis as verification is completed.