Government urged: Prioritize flood control master plan

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Bong Go has urged the government to prioritize the development of a flood control master plan amid heavy rains brought by Tropical Storm Enteng and the enhanced southwest monsoon.

“We need to have a comprehensive plan for flood control. We can no longer wait for the next storm before taking action,” Go said.

Ten deaths and 10 injured were reported by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, based on its 8 a.m. bulletin yesterday.

Go earlier urged the Department of Public Works and Highways to efficiently utilize its budget and ensure the effectiveness of the government’s flood control initiatives.

The senator had asked the DPWH for its accomplishment report, given that billions of pesos have been allocated for flood management since 2019.

Flood control projects will corner almost a third of the DPWH’s 2025 budget, but some riverside provinces like Bataan and Bukidnon will get none of this, raising concerns from a think tank.

For flood management, the DPWH allocated 32 percent, or P254.29 billion, of its proposed P898.8-billion budget under the 2025 National Expenditure Program.

Of the amount, P90.5 billion would be allotted for the construction and rehabilitation of flood mitigation structures in areas close to rivers.

The highest allocation from this budget is outlined to go to Oriental Mindoro, P12.5 billion, and Occidental Mindoro, P9.2 billion.

The Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) said these provinces account for some of the smallest areas at risk of flooding, begging the question of why they are obtaining the biggest budgets.

Only nine percent of Oriental Mindoro and seven percent of Occidental Mindoro are prone to flooding.

Some provinces sitting near river basins, like Bataan and Bukidnon, will receive no funding at all, the CPBRD noted.

“It is puzzling that Bukidnon and Bataan have zero budgets in 2025 considering that four major river basins pass through Bukidnon, namely, Rio Grande de Mindanao, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Tagoloan River Basins and Pampanga River Basin for Bataan,” the CPBRD said.

The CPBRD also raised alarm on the P1.5-billion budget that Metro Manila would receive under the subprogram for flood control projects in provinces near rivers.

The region is susceptible to flooding, given that its interior is traversed by the Pasig-Laguna River Basin.

President Marcos, in his July 22 State of the Nation Address, reported that the government finished 5,521 flood control projects between 2022 and 2024.

This claim was challenged when Typhoons Butchoy and Carina consecutively hit the Philippines in July, killing 46 people and affecting 1.6 million families.

The country sustained infrastructure and agricultural damage of P4.3 billion and P1.3 billion, respectively.

In response, the DPWH said it is building 5,000 more flood control structures nationwide. — Elijah Felice Rosales