Marcos 5 areas under NCR ‘Sponge City’ project finished in June 2027
MANILA, Philippines — The government will now implement a flood master plan – an existing one, which President Marcos said has not been used for decades.
The Chief Executive made the statement yesterday as he visited three Central Luzon provinces inundated by floods triggered by monsoon rains.
Meanwhile, five of the 39 sites identified for flood catchment projects under the Sponge City initiative will be completed by June next year, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said.
Calls for the government to implement a flood control framework mounted after work and classes were disrupted for several days because of torrential rains and heavy floods caused by the southwest monsoon.
“We already have a master plan. It’s just never been executed. We are only executing it now,” the President told reporters during his inspection of damaged bridges in Tarlac City yesterday.
“We have had a master plan for decades but nothing was done. Until now. We started just now,” he added.
Senate finance committee chairman JV Ejercito recently called on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to base its funding requests on a national master plan to ensure that the projects would cover flood-prone areas.
Palace press officer Claire Castro said the DPWH is updating existing frameworks, noting that the master plans developed during the 1930s and 1940s may no longer be useful.
She said as of May 31, 2026, the DPWH has updated master plans and feasibility studies for 16 major basins while those for Cagayan and Pasig, Marikina, Laguna Bay River Basins are eyed to be finalized by the end of the year.
Bridge repair
Marcos went to Tarlac, Zambales and Pampanga yesterday to inspect the structures affected by the southwest monsoon and to assess the needs of flood-hit communities.
In Tarlac City, Marcos vowed to provide P300 million to fund the repair of the damaged Aquino bridge in Barangay San Isidro.
“To fast-track the work, we will be downloading P300 million to the local government because it is a local bridge... Of course we will help, we will help with the technical aspects and we’ll help them in every way that we can,” the President said.
Several sections of the bridge, which is used daily by about 13,400 people and vehicles, were damaged by the strong current of the Tarlac River brought by heavy rains.
At the Agana Bridge, Marcos oversaw the building of a temporary Bailey bridge to restore connectivity in the area. The temporary bridge is expected to allow pedestrian crossings within a week and light-vehicle traffic within two weeks.
Before visiting the Aquino bridge, Marcos conducted an aerial inspection of flood-hit areas in the province.
Marcos also traveled to the remote and isolated Barangay Santa Fe in San Marcelino, Zambales to distribute relief and cash assistance to flood-affected residents.
He was given a situation briefing at the Santa Fe High School grounds by education officials and teaching personnel and inspected the barangay hall and multi-purpose center that were submerged by heavy flooding.
Social welfare personnel also provided relief goods and cash aid to about 1,000 families during the visit.
In Pampanga, Marcos instructed agencies to repair the damaged embankment near the Sto. Cristo Dam in Lubao town.
Marcos also highlighted the importance of Sabo dams constructed upstream, saying they serve as barriers to slow water flow and help prevent the rapid accumulation of debris and clogging at downstream dams.
The Chief Executive also went to the Pagcor Multi-Purpose Evacuation Center and the Pampanga Provincial Evacuation Center, both in Lubao, to check on the conditions of displaced residents. Each displaced family was given P10,000 cash aid, food packs and hygiene, sleeping and kitchen kits.
Rainfall detention
MMDA Chairman Romando Artes said the five priority projects are Miriam College, Camp Aguinaldo, Rajah Sulayman, Remedios Circle and University of the Philippines Sunken Garden.
Artes said they would present the five priority projects to Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon on Thursday.
“As the President directed… we were asked to select priority sites that might be eligible for funding this year,” Artes said at a press briefing at Malacañang.
“We believe we can complete (the five) by June 2027. But the rest of the 39 projects, if we start the implementation, I think we can finish them within the year – by December 2027,” he added.
The 39 sites were identified in a study conducted by Haskoning, an international consulting engineering company based in the Netherlands.
Sponge city and nature-based solutions are already being implemented in countries such as Singapore, China, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, according to Artes.
Under the plan, each local government unit in Metro Manila has at least two identified sites, while others have three.
Artes said part of the funding for the initiative would come from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a multilateral development bank, amounting to $200 million.
He said the projects would be tailored to the conditions of each site. These include catchment or cistern-type facilities that can temporarily store excess rainwater underground.
President Marcos earlier said the collected water could potentially be used for household, industrial or irrigation purposes, depending on the quality and treatment requirements.
Cavite retarding basins
Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said retarding basins designed by Japan would solve the recurring and widespread flooding in the country.
Remulla cited as an example the newly constructed Imus Retarding Basin in his home province of Cavite as a model of a flood control project that not only actually works but is also free of corruption.
Located along Palanas Road in Barangay Anabu 1-G, Imus City, the 35-hectare retarding basin can store up to 1.12 million cubic meters of stormwater during heavy rains caused by tropical cyclones and the enhanced southwest monsoon.
The P2.4-billion project was implemented through an agreement between the Philippine government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. It can regulate the overflow of the Imus River and reduce flood flow toward low-lying areas. — Helen Flores, Andrew Ronqullio, Emmanuel Tupas