MANILA, Philippines — Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said on Tuesday that corruption in government infrastructure projects has slowed economic growth and has resulted in losses of over P100 billion since 2023.

“It's possible that our growth would have increased by 6 percent if there was no corruption,” Recto told reporters at the sidelines of the budget hearing at the Senate of the Philippines.

“Well, last year we grew by 5.7 percent. Then the year before was what? 5.6 percent? We could have grown faster if there was no corruption, right?” he added.

During the hearing, Recto said the average economic losses from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control projects between 2023 and this year ranged from P42.3 billion to P118.5 billion.

He also stressed that the misuse of funds could have deprived the economy of as many as 95,000 to 266,000 jobs.

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“We just learned that this is the extent of the problem in flood control. So maybe if that money was spent better, we could have grown better,” Recto said.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.6 percent in 2023. It remained on the same level last year. Both below the 6.0 to 7.0 target of the government.

“Raising revenues is no joke. And then you’ll just see that these don’t go to the right projects and for the welfare of the people, with some even turning out to be ghost projects,” Recto said.