G-Watch Report on Pilot Spot-Checking of Flood Control Projects

report cover
Publish Date:
Attachment Size
g-watch-report-pilot-fcp-spot-checkingv4c.pdf10.26 MB 10.26 MB

Government Watch (G-Watch) conducted a pilot spot-checking of infrastructure projects in Pasig on September 23-24, 2025 to answer whether and how citizens can monitor flood control projects (FCPs). A total of 19 projects in Pasig City were checked by a 7-person team consisting of four G-Watch Center team members, two volunteer-engineers and one staff of the Pasig local government. Using a simple and easy-to-use tool developed while the spot-checking  was being conducted, the monitoring team visited the selected project sites to do physical observation and conduct interviews with community members. 

The following are the key findings of the spot-checking: 

  • Rehabilitation, improvement and maintenance (RIM) flood control projects are hard, if not impossible, to be monitored by simple spot-checking by citizens.
  • Generally, without the needed documents and if only with citizens checking, the project accomplishments are obscure, uncertain or unmonitorable.
  • While RIM flood control projects are hard or impossible to monitor by citizens, new constructions and vertical types can be checked.
  • Several projects are worth further investigation as these could be ghost or substandard projects.
  • Th necessity or usefulness of the flood control projects were questioned by the communities.
  • Citizens can do spot-checking of flood control projects. Its findings will be limited and nuanced, but it can point to what needs to be further investigated and audited. To do a thorough monitoring of flood control projects, a multi-year plan covering the entire floodway should be made available. 

At the end of the report, recommendations are provided on follow-up monitoring activities to be conducted and ways to enhance transparency, participation and accountability in flood control projects.  

***

Update: A follow-up monitoring was conducted by G-Watch to cover the provincial setting and if done in close collaboration with a locality's engineering office. See report here.