Oriental and Occidental Mindoro rank among the top 20 provinces nationwide in flood control project spending, with contracts totaling nearly P20 billion combined, according to data from sumbongsapangulo.ph.

Oriental Mindoro placed 11th with P11.1 billion in flood control contracts, while Occidental Mindoro ranked 20th at P8.7 billion.

The two island provinces received more funding than several larger, more flood-prone areas in the country.

Bulacan topped the list with P43.8 billion in contracts, followed by Cebu at P26.6 billion and Isabela at P22.8 billion.

Those three provinces also logged the highest number of individual flood control projects.

The complete top 20 list shows Tarlac with P18.6 billion, Camarines Sur at P17.6 billion, and Albay with P16.2 billion.

Pampanga received P14.6 billion while Leyte got P14.3 billion in contracts.

Rounding out the top 10 were Pangasinan with P13.6 billion and Misamis Oriental at P13.5 billion.

The remaining provinces in the top 20 include Negros Occidental (P11.1 billion), Cavite (P11.0 billion), La Union (P11.0 billion), Davao del Sur (P10.9 billion), Ilocos Norte (P10.1 billion), Agusan del Norte (P9.9 billion), Nueva Ecija (P9.4 billion), and Laguna (P9.0 billion).

Earlier, President Bongbong Marcos Jr. flagged the “mismatch” between project locations and high-risk zones, noting that some provinces with moderate flood risks received substantial allocations while more vulnerable areas were overlooked.

Lawmakers, including Senator Panfilo Lacson, have questioned why a small group of contractors cornered an estimated P100 billion in flood-control contracts.

Fifteen firms cornered 20 percent of total spending of DPWH budget while “ghost” projects exist and substandard construction leads to damages, Lacson said.

Critics argue fragmented budgeting and weak oversight allow certain provinces like Bulacan – dubbed “most notorious” for anomalies – to capture disproportionate resources.

DPWH officials defend their allocations as Congressional scrutiny and say they address both existing and emerging risks, while acknowledging problems with “phantom projects.”