“Nakakagalit.”

That was the word used by DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon as he inspected the Talomo River following the devastating floods that submerged parts of Davao City. He expressed disbelief after learning that the river had allegedly not been desilted for a decade and asked the obvious question: What happened?

It is a fair question. But it deserves an equally honest answer. Ironically, the first place to look is not outside the Department of Public Works and Highways. The answer is inside it.

A simple review of the DPWH’s own project portal reveals that from 2019 to 2025, numerous flood control projects were programmed, funded, and reported in Davao City, including along river systems intended to mitigate flooding. Hundreds of millions of pesos were allocated over the years under various flood mitigation and river improvement programs.

So the issue is no longer whether there were projects.The issue is, what became of them? If the Talomo River indeed went ten years without meaningful desilting, despite years of flood-control appropriations, then someone must explain the disconnect between what appears in government records and what residents experienced on the ground.

Were the projects completed? Were they only partial? Were they redirected? Were they delayed? Or did they simply fail to deliver the protection they promised?Only the DPWH can answer those questions.

That is why Congressman Paolo Duterte’s statement strikes at the heart of the matter. When he said that the answer to Secretary Dizon’s questions is found “in the DPWH books,” he was not merely making a political remark. He was pointing to the department’s own records, contracts, accomplishment reports, and disbursement documents.

Those books tell a story. Whether that story reflects success, failure, negligence, or something more troubling is precisely what deserves public scrutiny. This is not about assigning blame before the facts are established. It is about demanding accountability for public money.

Every flood-control project represents taxpayers’ hard-earned contributions and the hopes of families who simply want to sleep peacefully whenever heavy rains arrive.Floodwaters do not care about press conferences. They do not distinguish between one administration and another. They expose only one thing—whether infrastructure actually works.

Secretary Dizon has taken the right first step by asking difficult questions. But the investigation should not end with expressions of anger or surprise. It should begin with a complete audit of every flood-control project implemented in the Talomo River watershed and surrounding areas since 2019. Every contract, every accomplishment report, every peso released, and every unfinished project must be accounted for.

If everything was properly implemented, then the public deserves to know why the flooding still happened. If deficiencies are discovered, then those responsible must answer. Because in the end, the people of Davao are not asking for speeches. They are asking where the money went.

And if the records already exist, then perhaps Congressman Paolo Duterte was right all along. The answers have been sitting in the DPWH books the entire time.