DPWH Flood Control Funds Corruption: A Call for Nature-Based Solutions and Accountability

Initiated by MANGROVE MATTERS PH

A Coalition Statement by Youth Environmental Organizations

September 18, 2025 (Philippines) - We, the undersigned youth environmental organizations led by Mangrove Matters PH, a youth organization advocating for mangrove protection and restoration, condemn the recent corruption scandals surrounding the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control funds. As young Filipinos who will inherit the consequences of both climate change and systemic corruption, we demand immediate accountability and a fundamental shift toward sustainable, nature-based flood management solutions.

The True Cost of Corruption

The misappropriation of billions of pesos intended for flood control infrastructure represents more than financial theft; it is environmental injustice that disproportionately affects vulnerable communities and biodiversity. While corrupt officials enrich themselves, Filipino families continue to face devastating floods that destroy homes, livelihoods, and lives, especially the poorest sectors, including the urban poor and displaced coastal communities. This corruption perpetuates a cycle where vulnerable sectors remain defenseless against increasingly severe and intense weather events driven by the climate crisis.

As youth advocates, we are particularly outraged that funds meant to protect Filipinos from climate impacts are being stolen. Every peso diverted from legitimate flood control measures is a peso stolen, overlooking and neglecting safety and resilience for human security.

Mangroves: The Natural Flood Defenders We're Ignoring

The Philippines has lost over 50% of its mangrove forests in the past century, eliminating one of nature's most effective flood control systems. Healthy mangrove ecosystems can reduce wave heights by up to 66% during tidal surges, and they act as sponge to store excess water in the soils from rains to reduce coastal flooding. These coastal forests act as living seawalls, protecting communities from storms, typhoons, coastal flooding, and erosion while providing sustainable livelihoods through fisheries and ecotourism.

Yet, instead of investing in the restoration and protection of these natural flood barriers, we continue to prioritize expensive concrete infrastructure that often fails during extreme weather events, infrastructure that is frequently substandard due to corruption, with contractors cutting corners and using inferior materials while pocketing the difference. The irony is stark: while DPWH funds are being siphoned off for personal gain- leaving behind flood control structures that crumble when communities need them most- the most cost-effective and sustainable flood control solutions remain neglected. Our mangrove ecosystems, nature’s frontline defense against flooding, are underfunded and underprotected, despite existing environmental laws.  Weak enforcement and poor implementation continue to undermine their potential to safeguard lives and livelihoods.

Our Demands for Change

Immediate Accountability:

• Full investigation and prosecution of all officials, staff, and contractors involved in the DPWH flood control fund corruption

• Recovery and transparent reallocation of misappropriated funds

• Implementation of stronger oversight mechanisms for all public works projects

Legislative Priority:

• Immediate passage of the National Coastal Greenbelt Bill to establish a legal framework for the protection of coastal greenbelts and restoration nationwide, where coastal LGUs are mandated to designate 100m width of coastal greenbelt as buffer zones to safeguard the communities and biodiversity from climate-induced impacts, notably typhoons and storm surges.

• Freedom of Information (FOI) Law to ensure that the government data and documents, especially those related to public funds are accessible to the public as a matter of right. 

Systemic Reform:

• Integration of nature-based solutions into national flood management strategies to sustain and promote the services provided by our ecosystems

• Mandatory submission of  Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for all flood control projects to determine the impacts of proposed projects on the environment

• Ensure genuine and inclusive community consultation in flood management planning, and implementation 

• Training and employment opportunities for youth in ecosystem restoration for intergenerational equity

A Call to Fellow Youth

We call upon our fellow young Filipinos to recognize that environmental protection and anti-corruption advocacy are inseparable fights. The same systems that allow the destruction of our natural resources enable the theft of public funds meant to protect us from climate impacts.

While billions are being stolen from flood control funds and wasted on substandard concrete infrastructure, we have a ready solution waiting for legislative approval: the National Coastal Greenbelt Bill. This critical legislation would provide sustainable, corruption-resistant flood protection for generations, representing everything that current corrupt practices are not: transparent, science-based, community-centered, and built for long-term resilience rather than short-term profit.

We cannot afford to delay this legislation any longer while our communities remain less resilient and vulnerable and our natural defenses continue to disappear. The climate crisis demands urgent action, but that action must be honest, transparent, participatory, and scientifically sound.

Beyond Outrage: Our Action Plan

We, as a coalition of youth environmental organizations, advocate for:

• Community-based mangrove restoration projects that provide both flood protection and sustainable livelihoods

• Green-gray infrastructure approaches that combine traditional engineering with ecosystem-based adaptation

• Transparent, participatory budgeting for all climate adaptation projects

• Legal protection for the remaining mangrove areas and coastal ecosystems

Moving Forward

The revelation of corruption in DPWH flood control funds is not just a political scandal—it is a climate justice issue that affects every Filipino, especially the youth who will live with the consequences for decades to come. We demand not only accountability for past wrongdoing but a fundamental reimagining of how we approach flood management in the Philippines.

Our mangrove ecosystems offer proven, cost-effective, and sustainable flood protection. It's time to stop ignoring nature's solutions while expensive, corruption-prone infrastructure projects continue to fail our communities. The choice is clear: either we persist on a path of environmental destruction and systemic corruption, or we invest in resilience, environmental justice and sustainability. It’s time to protect what protects us. 

The future is in our hands, and we choose restoration over destruction, transparency over corruption, and nature-based solutions over failed infrastructure.

Signatory Organizations:

• Mangrove Matters PH

• Youth For Mangroves

• One Pawikan Initiative

• High Seas Philippines

• Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines

• Ateneo Environmental Science Society

• University of the Philippines Visayas Libertas (UPV Libertas)

• Ateneo de Davao Senior High School Laudato Si Marine Club

• University of the Philippines Visayas Biological Society

• EcoSkwela: Citizen Science Lab

• Sustainable Initiatives for Biodiversity, Ocean, and Land - SIBOL

• Polytechnic University of the Philippines Society of Biology Students

• People and Habitat (Catanduanes)

• University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Human Ecology Freshman Council

• School of Science and Engineering (SOSE) Sanggunian

• Silliman University Student Government Environment Committee

• Department of Science and Technology Scholars’ Association in UP Visayas 

• Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral ng mga Paaralang Loyola ng Ateneo de Manila

• Youth Strike for Climate Philippines

• University of the Philippines Society of Human Settlements Planners

• Loyola Mountaineers

• Council of Organizations of the Ateneo - Manila

• Polytechnic University of the Philippines Chemical Society (PUP CHEMSOC)

• Atenean Legacy in Islamic Faith (ALIF)

• University of the Philippines Sakdag

• University of the Philippines  Ichthyophilic Society (UPIS)

• University of the Philippines Visayas Marketing Society Incorporated (UPV MSI)

• UP Oikos 

• University of the Philippines Visayas Chemistry Society (UPV ChemSoc)

• UP Fisheries Guild (UPFG)

• Silliman University Divinity School Ecumenical Relations and Environmental Concerns Committee

• University of the Philippines Hublag Dance Company (UPV HDC)

• University of the Philippines Visayas Skimmers

• University of the Philippines Visayas Discursus

• University of the Philippines Visayas CLOVERS