Why are we still flooded despite trillions in concrete?

From 2000 to 2021, based on PhilGEPS procurement data, the Philippine government awarded over ₱5.72 trillion in contracts across its top ten procurement categories. An overwhelming ₱4.65 trillion went to Construction Projects--already a staggering 81 percent of the total for the top 10. Yet despite this torrent of spending, floods continue to paralyze communities, exposing how concrete often serves politics as much as public need. Interestingly, information Technology (₱152.2 billion) sits unusually high at third place, suggesting both attempts at digital modernization and suspicions of overpriced, fragmented systems. By contrast, Drugs and Medicines (fourth place with ₱132.4 billion) and Medical Supplies and Laboratory Instruments (10th place with ₱74.2 billion) together account for barely 4 percent of construction’s total—underscoring how health spending, though vital, has struggled to compete with the politics of infrastructure. Meanwhile, Vehicles (₱113.1 billion), Foodstuff (₱84.2 billion), and Lease of property (₱89.9 billion) reflect the everyday logistics of bureaucracy. Services (₱125.3 billion) and Construction Materials (₱96.4 billion) reinforce the system’s heavy bias toward building. Trillions have already sunk into concrete, yet the waters keep rising. One can only hope IT does not become the flood-control project of our time—rich in contracts, poor in integrity.