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Negros Occidental 3rd district Rep. Javier Miguel "javi" Benitez has reiterated his backing of President Marcos' audit of questionable flood control projects even as Filipinos continue to suffer from worsened flooding. (Video courtesy of House of Representatives)

READ: https://mb.com.ph/2025/09/04/javi-benitez-fully-behind-pbbms-flood-control-project-crusade-says-climate-change-justice-a-must

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Transcript
00:00Over the weekend, we experienced a phenomenon.
00:04Five days' worth of rainfall fell in just one hour,
00:10a hyper-localized rainfall primarily affecting Quezon City and Marikina City.
00:16In that short time, these areas received a staggering 121 millimeters of rain,
00:24surpassing the previous record for the highest rainfall in one hour during Typhoon Ondoy,
00:30which was 90 millimeters.
00:33In certain areas, traffic came to a standstill as cars became trapped in the floodwaters,
00:38with some even seen floating away.
00:43Although there was no tropical depression,
00:46the Quezon City government reported that flooding affected 36 out of 142 barangays.
00:53Prompting some families to evacuate.
00:56In my home province, in Negros Occidental alone,
01:0016 evacuation centers in two towns and two cities affecting 21 barangays
01:05are currently providing temporary shelter to 854 families or 3,738 individuals.
01:13That is as of 10 a.m. of September 2, 2025,
01:17according to the Provincial Social Welfare Development Office.
01:20These individuals are affected by the relentless downpour and floodwater brought by LPA
01:27and further intensified by the Habagat.
01:31Many people, including the local government units, or LGUs,
01:35were caught off guard by the recent situation.
01:38However, was this anticipated?
01:40Yes, in an interview by Dr. Alfredo Maharlagmai of the UP Resilience Institute,
01:48identified climate change as a likely contributor to the increasing intensity of weather events,
01:54such as the one we experienced last weekend.
01:57And as we all know,
01:59the Philippines is grappling with a major corruption scandal involving flood control projects.
02:04Allegations of substandard work, incomplete projects, and outright ghost projects
02:10have sparked public outrage and the ire of no less than the President,
02:15who has vowed accountability and launched investigations,
02:18while Congress has revealed that a small number of contractors
02:22have cornered a massive portion of the flood control budget,
02:26raising serious concerns about kickbacks and systemic corruption.
02:29Mr. Speaker, I welcome President Marcos' order to investigate
02:34a $350 billion in flood control projects,
02:37and with like-minded colleagues,
02:39demand all concerned agencies' full disclosure of all project details,
02:43including names of contractors and politicians
02:46responsible for these multi-billion peso projects funded by our taxpayers.
02:51I have personally signed the call for transparency initiated
02:55by several chief executives,
02:57as I strongly believe in good governance, transparency, and accountability.
03:02And while I fully support the investigation into the corruption
03:05associated with flood control projects,
03:09I urge this Honourable Body to consider brother issues.
03:27The way through the보 goal that I will go全 day is my tánd noises.
03:31Thank you so much for that Gia.
03:32Thank you so much.
03:34To the next level making and issue the bandwidth support that you are
03:38with, I suppose the Dolson Massage's report can be
03:40a three-year plan.
03:42Hi.
03:43I like the Ad myself,
03:46I like the Dor smarter system in this meeting beautiful eye,
03:46and that I think the leader I'm near you
03:48with you.
03:51You need to remember all the angels
03:52What this message music was a good insight
03:54throughout the past,
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