The Flood Control Projects That Were Never Meant to Protect Us: AMLC Unmasks ₱180 Billion Duterte-Era Laundering Scandal

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

When history finally untangles the knots of corruption, there are moments that shake a nation to its core. This is one of them.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has confirmed what Filipinos have whispered for years: the flood-control projects under the Duterte administration were never really about protecting the people. Instead, they became a raging torrent of public money—₱180 billion—flowing straight into the pockets of a select few, masked behind construction firms and political influence.

And in a cruel twist of irony, as disinformation about Rodrigo Duterte’s alleged collapse in the International Criminal Court spread like wildfire—peddled even by Sara Duterte herself—the real collapse was happening elsewhere: the collapse of their fortress of lies.

The Discayas: Flood-Control “King and Queen”

At the center of the scandal stand Curlee and Sarah Discaya, whose family name has now become synonymous with plunder. Four of their construction firms—each claiming legitimacy—turned into bottomless vaults for public funds:

St. Gerrard Construction: ₱70.53 billion since 2014, with a massive ₱4.6 billion spike in 2017 alone.

St. Timothy Construction: ₱48.3 billion in contracts, its earnings exploding by 115,000% from 2016 to 2019.

Alpha & Omega General Contractor: ₱45 billion since 2016, peaking at ₱7 billion in 2022—an eye-watering 16,000% increase from the moment Duterte took office.

St. Matthew General Contractor: ₱18.8 billion, ₱16.4 billion of which flooded in post-2016.

The timeline tells the story: the deluge began the very year Duterte ascended to Malacañang. Sara Duterte herself once admitted the Discaya firms only entered flood-control projects in 2016. From there, the numbers ballooned into a grotesque spectacle.

The Classic Signs of Laundering

The AMLC findings were a case study in red flags:

Billions from DPWH regional and district offices, funneled to Discaya-linked firms.

Round-tripping deposits and withdrawals designed to mask origins.

Frantic inter-account transfers, moving money like a shell game to conceal the hand behind it.

A jaw-dropping ₱571.55 million transfer in a single day by St. Timothy Construction.

It was as if the Discayas thought no one would ever check. For years, no one did—at least not publicly.

Ping Lacson’s Warning, Ignored

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson had long raised the alarm, revealing that the Discayas cornered a staggering ₱207 billion in projects from 2016 to 2025, more than half during Duterte’s reign. Yet his warnings fell on deaf ears, drowned by a chorus of loyalist propaganda and DDS influencers eager to protect their benefactors.

Now the AMLC’s hard evidence leaves no room for denial.

Disinformation as Shield

So why did Sara Duterte suddenly conjure stories about her father collapsing in the ICC, supposedly from a cranial injury? Because distraction has always been the Duterte playbook. When the fire is too close to home, set up smoke elsewhere.

But here lies the true cranial injury: the collective denial of DDS loyalists who refuse to admit that their idol presided over what is shaping up to be the most corrupt post-Martial Law era in Philippine history.

Build, Build, Build—or Steal, Steal, Steal?

The Duterte administration’s proudest slogan—“Build, Build, Build”—has now been unmasked for what it really was: “Steal, Steal, Steal.” A national betrayal disguised as infrastructure progress.

Billions meant to shield Filipinos from floods were instead diverted to flood the private coffers of the Discayas and their powerful allies. The true victims are the millions still wading through knee-deep waters every monsoon, their homes destroyed, their taxes stolen.

A Nation’s Reckoning

The scandal leaves us with burning questions:

Shouldn’t those who campaigned, blogged, and shilled for Duterte be held accountable too?

Where are those who proudly posted “Duterte is my President” while their taxes funded this grand plunder?

If there is justice, should they not be the ones helping return the stolen billions?

Because in the end, corruption of this magnitude does not happen in silence. It requires enablers, influencers, propagandists—and the blind loyalty of a nation too distracted to demand the truth.

The AMLC has now torn down the dam. The floodwaters of truth are here. And no amount of fake cranial injuries, DDS denial, or online troll armies can hold them back.

The world may soon recognize the Philippines for another dubious record: one of the largest money-laundering scandals ever uncovered in modern history.

And the Filipino people, betrayed yet again, are left to ask: how much more will it take before we finally stop confusing power with patriotism, and propaganda with truth?

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