Following queries from Senator Joel Villanueva regarding what happened to the more than ₱130 billion allocated for the Bicol flood control budget, it’s Sen. Imee Marcos-Manotoc’s turn now to question the issue and demand for a full accounting especially since there was widespread flooding in the region due to severe tropical storm Kristine (international name Trami).

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s elder sister enthused that it is unacceptable that despite the allocation of a whopping ₱132 billion for flood control, specifically for Bicol, communities in the region remain inundated with thousands of families suffering from the floods.

This prompted the lady senator to emphasize the need for transparency on where these funds went.

With the Bicol region hardest-hit areas by typhoon Kristine, Senator Marcos was shocked as “according to the 2024 General Appropriations Act, Bicol it received ₱31.94 the current year alone, bringing the six-year total to nearly P133 billion.”

“Of this amount, over ₱86.6 billion was allocated in just the past two years, yet typhoon Kristine has once again left the region in crisis, exposing inadequate infrastructure and critical gaps in flood mitigation,” she pointed out.

She called on government agencies concerned, particularly the Department of Public Works and Highways, to “provide a full accounting of the funds and progress of these projects” even as she moved for a “thorough investigation into the budget’s use.”