Palace eyes integration of flood master plan

MANILA, Philippines —The Marcos administration is considering integrating the flood control master plan drawn during the term of the late president Benigno Aquino III with other frameworks to come up with a system that addresses the new realities caused by climate change.

Palace press officer Claire Castro said flood mitigation master plans were crafted in the 1930s and 1940s, but were not implemented in the previous decades.

Castro said the government already has plans for major river basins aimed at preventing excessive water flow during a cyclone.

“(Department of Public Works and Highways) Secretary Vince Dizon mentioned the Aquino-Singson master plan and it is one (of the frameworks) that may be studied,” Castro said in a press briefing yesterday, referring to the plan the DPWH formulated under its former chief Rogelio Singson and approved by Aquino in 2012.

Singson had said that the framework could only be carried out fully by 2035 as it involves large-scale infrastructure projects.

“So these will be integrated and there is a need to update them. During a previous meeting, the President cited the need to update the measures that have to be undertaken because of the possible effects of climate change. The plans before may no longer be attuned with the effect of climate change,” Castro said.

In 2024, President Marcos ordered the DPWH,the environment department and other agencies to revise the flood control master plan, saying existing measures may no longer be sufficient because of the high volume of rains.

During his visit to Tarlac on Wednesday, Marcos said the Philippines has only started implementing a flood master plan, acknowledging that it has been existing for decades, but nothing was done to enforce it.

Castro said the Aquino-Singson master plan was transmitted to the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

However, Marcos’ former public works secretary Manuel Bonoan claimed to have not received any master plan, she added.
“So, Secretary Vince Dizon, when he was appointed, responded to the matters related to major river basins. Now, he is coordinating on the Aquino-Singson master plan,” Castro said.

The Philippine Space Agency or PhilSA said yesterday that artificial intelligence and radar satellite imagery have mapped the floods brought by the southwest monsoon to have covered vast sections of the seven major regions of Luzon.

To keep people from living in flood-prone and other hazardous areas, Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. yesterday said the PNP is backing Marcos’ order to strictly enforce no-build zones in areas considered dangerous for communities.

Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna ordered an intensified use of science and technology in forest and watershed protection, as he directed department field offices and enforcement units to strengthen monitoring, risk assessment and law enforcement, detect threats early and reduce risks to downstream communities. – Rainier Allan Ronda, Emmanuel Tupas, Josiah Antonio