Moderate the greed

In dire need of a sound bite? Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro disclosed last week that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) purportedly directed the immediate cleaning of drainage systems. Castro cited the need to prevent the fast rising of flood waters that inundate Metro Manila, including Malacañang Palace.

At least, an average of 20 typhoons enter the Philippines. With the advent of climate change, we have to live with the unpredictable behavior of La Niña and El Niño phenomenon, or the long wet and dry season, respectively.  

The supposed presidential directives came a month after the onset of rainy season in the Philippines was officially declared on June 3. A week later, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) spotted the first tropical cyclone that entered our country. Named as “Auring,” the typhoon-level weather disturbance unleashed heavy rains up in Batanes and Cagayan.

Just over the weekend, typhoon “Bising” came in and poured intermittent rains all over Metro Manila and nearby provinces in Luzon. PAGASA alerted the public to brace for more monsoon rain showers ahead. 

Subsequently, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) warned as many as 664 barangays across Luzon are at risk of rain-induced landslides, flooding and debris flow from July 3 to 6. Of this total number of at-risk barangays, 412 are in Metro Manila, including 117 in Manila, 114 in Quezon City, 92 in Caloocan, 33 in Valenzuela, 21 in Malabon, 18 in Navotas, 16 in Marikina and one in Pasig.

Weather experts project rainfall accumulation may range between 50 and 100 millimeters in Metro Manila in the coming days. “The threshold values were lowered in Metro Manila due to the nature of flooding in highly urbanized areas, wherein rains are not readily absorbed by the ground,” the MGB advisory explained.

Another 252 barangays across northern and Central Luzon were also listed as vulnerable to the same “risks” and these are spread in: 103 in Cagayan, 15 in Isabela, 68 in Zambales, 14 in Bataan, eight in Apayao, five in Kalinga and 39 in Ilocos Sur.

The MGB reminded anew local government units (LGUs) to activate precautionary safety measures that include, among others, clearing/cleaning waterways and close monitoring of river levels. It is understandable why such reminders were issued to LGUs. Obviously, this is more addressed to neophyte mayors and freshly installed governors and the rest of LGU executives who were newly elected into office in the last May 12 polls. Because they just have assumed office and started doing their job for merely a week only.

For the incumbent ones who got re-elected, it should be automatic, brain muscle memory for them to do what they must while typhoons are still mild to moderately strong. They’ve been there, done that, so to speak. 

But the supposed presidential directive to clean up  the drainage systems takes the cake.

Yes, PBBM is the Chief Executive of the land to issue such directives to LGUs. But Castro should know where the buck stops. That’s the primary job of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) at the national level, especially applicable in Metro Manila as the national capital region. 

The drainage system is part and parcel of the flood control program under the DPWH’s mandate and funded in the annual budget of the national expenditure program (NEP) of the government. Currently, the NEP is being finalized in time for submission on or after PBBM delivers his next state of the nation address (SONA) this July 28 at the joint opening sessions of the 20th Congress. 

The Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) agreed to propose a new record-high budget of P6.793 trillion for 2026 GAA. Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, who chairs the DBCC, announced the proposed 2026 NEP is yet another record-breaking total budget because it’s 7.4 percent more this year’s General Appropriations Act (GAA) of P6.326 trillion.

This brings to mind also the flood control expenditures under the 2024 GAA. Not yet the Senate president in August, 2023, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero questioned the P255 billion allocation for flood control program under the proposed DPWH budget.

 “The fifth biggest budget – and it’s not even a Department – is flood control,” Escudero pointed out at that time. “May I ask why that cap was given by the DBM or by the DBCC if indeed we put premium to agriculture and our country is an agricultural country,” Escudero quizzed at the hearing. 

 Then it happened again when the 19th Congress approved the 2025 GAA. Of the proposed DPWH budget of P303 billion, 34 percent or P16.7 billion went to flood-control related projects. Exercising his line-item veto power over the annual budget legislative measure, PBBM removed these from the P26 billion worth of infrastructure projects, including other congressional “insertions” to the DPWH original submission to the NEP. 

After seeing a badly mangled 2025 GAA, PBBM’s veto unmasked many of these congressional line-item “insertions” as nothing but pork-barrel allocations.

In his own state of the city address last week, returning Manila Mayor Isko “Yorme” Domagoso sternly reminded the DPWH that all drainage projects that the agency will implement should henceforth align with the city government’s own master plan. Yorme did not mince words in applying the same rule to even those funded by lawmakers who insert their own “projects” in the line-item budget of the DPWH such as those in the agency’s flood control program NEP provision in the annual GAA.

As a potential long-term solution to persistent flooding in Central Luzon provinces, Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando sought out Malacañang last week on the status of Presidential Directive No. PBBM-2025-1415. Bulacan perennially experiences annual flooding in its low-lying areas, made worse by every high tide in the Manila Bay. According to Gov. Fernando, this directive was earlier issued to the DPWH, and other state agencies reviewing the Manila Bay Integrated Flood Control Coastal Defense and Expressway Project.

So the better marching “orders” of PBBM could be: Moderate the greed. Pool the funds in the budget – not to your pockets – but to mitigate, if not control flood.