PAMPANGA – Residents of Barangay Candating in Arayat, Pampanga, are calling on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to inspect a failed ₱275 million flood control project that collapsed in August 2024, leaving families vulnerable to flooding.
The project’s failure has raised concerns over government spending and accountability.
The project, officially called the Rehabilitation of the Eroded Bank of Pampanga River in Candating, Arayat, was awarded to Edmarri Construction and Trading, which bagged ₱91 million in 2023, ₱182 million in 2024, and another ₱100 million in 2025.
But despite the massive allocation, residents said the structure failed catastrophically, exposing what they called another possible case of substandard or “ghost-like” infrastructure.
Six barangay kagawads namely Joseph Hipolito, Manny Mariano, Jace Pineda, Riza Guttierez, Arnold Alicuman, and Gonzalo Mesa – issued a public letter urging a fair and independent probe into the project’s collapse.
“Ito ay napakalaking halaga ng pera ng ating bayan na nasayang lamang at higit sa lahat ay nagdulot pa ng perwisyo at kapahamakan sa aming mga kabaryo,” the councilors wrote.
(This is a huge amount of our people’s money that went to waste, and worse, it brought harm and danger to our communities.)
The Candating officials said the project not only failed its purpose but also put lives at risk during heavy rains. ” Iyong po nilagay nila sheet pile putol at hindi buo ” barangay resident said.
Records showed the Candating flood control project was identified as a priority infrastructure by former Senior Deputy Speaker and now Special Adviser to the Speaker (SAS) Pampanga lawmaker Dong Gonzales, who has been linked to the so-called “Big Six” in Congress – lawmakers allegedly manipulating flood control funds in coordination with House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
