Quezon City validating 141 DPWH flood control projects – Belmonte

MANILA, Philippines —  The Quezon City government has discovered dozens of flood control projects in the city that were not in the list released by the Office of the President through its sumbongsapangulo.ph website.

In addition to the 141 projects included in the President’s website, Mayor Joy Belmonte confirmed that there were at least another 41 flood control projects that were also implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Quezon City.

“At present, we are validating if these projects exist and which projects were coordinated with the city, and which were not coordinated with the city,” she said on Tuesday over ABS-CBN News.

The city government has begun the validation of the projects, with Belmonte directly talking to residents to determine the impact of the projects on their communities.

Among those she visited was the retaining wall constructed along Commonwealth Creek, which residents said had worsened flooding in their area.

The mayor also visited the Holy Spirit National High School, where a building was reportedly built over a creek in 2017.

The mayor previously called out the DPWH for implementing projects without coordination with the city government. She welcomed the directive of President Marcos requiring national agencies to secure permits from local government units (LGUs) before the implementation of any infrastructure project.

The order, the city government said, “is a vital step in ensuring that every government initiative is responsive to the needs, priorities and safety of our citizens.”

“It strengthens the intent of the Local Government Code, which mandates meaningful participation of LGUs in the planning and implementation of projects that directly affect their constituencies,” it added.

The city has an ordinance requiring coordination with the city’s infrastructure committee prior to the implementation of any project.

“Under this ordinance, a Certificate of Coordination from the Office of the Mayor is a prerequisite before permits are issued, ensuring public consultation, alignment with local development plans and protection of citywide systems before any work begins,” the city government said.

Two pumping stations to be built over creeks have received notices of objection from the city as it violates the Water Code.

“The very famous Matalahib Creek pumping station was built on top of the creek. It was never coordinated with the city. When we found out about that, we asked them to present to us, they presented and we objected to it. Because it is against the Water Code which specifies that you are not allowed to build any infrastructure on top of a creek or a body of water because it is flooded so it is blocking the creek, and as a result, the barangays are flooded,” Belmonte said.

She said that only the first phase of the Matalahib Creek was finished.

“So now, because of the media attention that followed after we exposed the project, my call was, ‘don’t finish it, terminate it and instead of continuing the project, the remaining P250 million, make it a detention basin.’ That was my proposal,” Belmonte said.

The mayor noted that because of the controversy, the city government initiated a campaign where people were encouraged to report anomalous flood control projects.

“So we decided, let’s ask the people to report to us and tell us, so that we can complete the story and have a more complete picture of what is going on in our city with regards to flood control,” she said.

Belmonte said that the QC government is now investigating the Mariblo Creek Pumping Station.

“Again, the pumping station was going to be built on top of the creek, and so we issued a Letter of Objection, so because of that, the DPWH is talking to us but what I want to happen is, I hope we can finish the survey of all their projects, and we will sit down with the DPWH,” she said.

Meanwhile, Belmonte added that the city government has a plan to address the flooding in G. Araneta Avenue.

“G. Araneta is a national road but national roads are not exempt from our plans, although they are beyond our responsibility. That’s why I often lobby to the DPWH, and the national government, to consider our plan for the construction of flood control projects. We have suggestions on how to improve G. Araneta to avoid flooding in that area. It’s in our drainage master plan,” she noted.

Isko : Where’s the P14.3 billion?

At a media briefing yesterday, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso lamented the perennial flooding in the city despite over P14.3 billion worth of flood control projects from 2022 to 2025, which were all marked “finished.”

A total of 79 contractors implemented 213 flood control projects worth that amount in the past three years, according to information from the city government attributed to the sumbongsapangulo.ph website.

Included among the 79 contractors were some of the 15 companies tagged by President Marcos who cornered 20 percent of the P545-billion funding for flood control projects, Domagoso said.

He said all of the flood control projects in Manila did not secure any permit from the city government. - Ghio Ong, EJ Macababbad, Artemio Dumlao