Dizon, BCDA refute flood control ‘insertion’ allegations

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) denied Secretary Vivencio B. Dizon made budget insertions for flood control projects, dismissing a Batangas Rep. Leandro Antonio L. Leviste’s claim as “baseless and malicious.”

“The BCDA (Bases Conversion and Development Authority), which Secretary [Vivencio B.] Dizon formerly headed, has already issued a clear statement that it has no flood control projects that are funded through budget insertions, ‘allocable funds’,” the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

In a separate statement, BCDA said it has no flood control projects funded through budget insertions or any discretionary source.

“No such funds exist within BCDA projects or its authority. Claims to the contrary are unsupported by evidence and false,” it said, noting that all its projects were funded only through approved government programs.

Its records are fully complete, traceable, and auditable, ensuring that project funding, approvals, procurement, and disbursements remain open to oversight institutions, the BCDA added.

“BCDA enforces zero tolerance for corruption through strict compliance with the law, multi-layered legal and audit review, standardized frameworks that limit discretion, and close coordination with oversight bodies, and welcomes fact-based review and investigation,” it said.

The DPWH and BCDA issued the statement after Mr. Leviste accused Mr. Dizon of making budget insertions for flood control projects under BCDA.

“The timing of Mr. Leviste’s allegations also raises suspicion after reports of some DPWH staff surfaced, accusing the lawmaker of forcefully and illegally getting files from the late Undersecretary Catalina E. Cabral,” DPWH said.

SUB-CONTRACTOR LINKS
In response, Mr. Leviste asked the agencies investigating the scandal to probe Mr. Dizon’s connections with contractors, particularly the Lourel Development Corporation, which was sub-contracted for the P11.5-billion New Clark City Project.

“I hope that Sec. Vince will forgive me for this, but I just need to respond to his statement that there is no basis to BCDA having had a flood control project,” Mr. Leviste said in a statement, shared on his official Facebook page on Tuesday.

He said the sub-contractor for the project, flagged by the Commission on Audit for failing to undergo public bidding, was a company that belonged to the family of a Party-list representative who is currently being investigated by the DPWH.

Mr. Leviste also noted the said lawmaker, who has yet to face a complaint, allegedly met with Mr. Dizon in New Clark City when he was still the Transportation secretary. The meeting was set by a Public Works undersecretary.

“I don’t want to draw any conclusions, but I think the public deserves to know what the dealings of flood control investigators are with any of the people they are currently investigating,” Mr. Leviste said.

Mr. Leviste also said he received information from DPWH whistleblowers involving the agency’s new leadership and the 2026 national budget. — Ashley Erika O. Jose