Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac confirmed on Thursday night, September 11, that the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has ordered the recall of Labor Attaché Macy Monique Maglanque from Los Angeles. She is expected to return to Manila to face an investigation into her alleged links to the multi-billion peso flood control project controversy.
The recall came after Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson first raised her name in connection with the corruption scandal that has rocked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and several lawmakers. The controversy has drawn widespread outrage following revelations of ghost projects, kickbacks reaching up to 25% of contracts, and accusations that only a handful of contractors cornered nearly 20% of the national flood control budget.
Maglanque, who was serving as Labor Attaché I and head of the Migrant Workers Office at the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles, oversees programs for Filipinos in Southern California and Southern Nevada. Her recall is the latest development in a widening probe that has already implicated senators, contractors, and DPWH officials.
Since 2022, the government has allotted more than ₱545 billion for flood mitigation projects nationwide. But watchdog groups, including Greenpeace, warned that as much as ₱173 billion could have been lost to corruption. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has since vetoed questionable flood control items in the 2025 budget, reallocated unused funds to health and education, and created the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) through Executive Order No. 94 to dig deeper into the scandal.
