Senate sets August 9 probe on perennial flooding problem

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate has set a hearing on Aug. 9 to investigate the perennial problem of flooding, with the aim of forming a comprehensive master plan that would integrate regional flood control programs in the country.

In a Zoom interview with reporters yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said the chamber will conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation on the government’s plans to protect Metro Manila and other vulnerable provinces from floods.

Villanueva expressed dismay at the severe flooding that has affected barangays in his home province Bulacan. He said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has a comprehensive flood control plan for Central Luzon, of which Bulacan is part, but the program has yet to curb flooding in the region known as the country’s rice granary.

The Senate will grill officials of the DPWH for failure to curb flooding despite its flood control budget this year of P182 billion, which was increased in next year’s proposed budget to P215.6 billion, Villanueva said.

“It’s just heartbreaking to know we have a flood control program and yet the province suffered from flood. I’m not just pointing fingers at the DPWH, but all agencies of the government,” Villanueva said.

Senators are proposing an integrated master plan nationwide that would streamline the flood control programs in flood-prone regions across the country.

Villanueva said that President Marcos is amenable to having a major flood control master plan, which may be part of the mandate in the proposed Department of Water Resource Management, a measure seen to address the El Niño phenomenon as mentioned in the second State of the Nation Address.

29 dead

Twenty-nine persons were reported killed due to the effect of the southwest monsoon enhanced by typhoons Egay and Falcon, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said yesterday.

In its latest situation report, the NDRRMC also said that as of 6 a.m. yesterday, 165 persons were reported injured while 11 were missing.

The NDRRMC said 17,349 persons from Regions 1, 2, 3, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Region 6 were pre-emptively evacuated, with 805,621 families or 3,026,040 individuals affected.

A total of 287,057 persons were displaced, many seeking shelter in evacuation centers.

The same NDRRMC situation report showed that 56,694 houses were damaged, consisting of 54,406 partially damaged and 2,288 totally damaged houses.

In Central Luzon, disaster authorities said more than 2.2 million residents were affected by the southwest monsoon enhanced by Egay and Falcon.

NDRRMC-3 latest report said 640,449 families or 2,246,464 individuals were displaced in the region following the continuous moderate to heavy rains in the past days. Some 1,010 barangays in the region were hit by floods, forcing some 8,344 families or 29,466 individuals to stay in various evacuation centers.

The report said Egay’s wrath likewise destroyed 450 houses while 365 were partially damaged. The estimated damage in fisheries and aquatic resources in the region was at P1,042,406,061.

Three road sections in the region, particularly in Pampanga, are still not passable to motorists due to flooding. — Jose Rodel Clapano, Janvic Mateo, Ric Sapnu, Artemio Dumlao