Master plan to address Bicol flooding pushed

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has directed the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to carry out the updated Bicol River Basin Master Plan as the country braces for severe weather conditions linked to climate change.

The master plan, which was crafted to address flooding in the region, was discussed during a meeting of the Regional Development Council in Pili, Camarines Sur last Friday.

“I already instructed Public Works to come up with a master plan which is appropriate for now. There is no other way to address the flooding problem except to manage the water flowing into the Bicol region river basin,” Marcos said.

“At least we have a plan now. We have to implement it properly because the old master plan was not rigorously implemented so we have the same problem,” he added.

Marcos emphasized the need to make adjustments, as the old master plan may no longer be responsive to more severe weather conditions.

The plan should be made available to all stakeholders, including the implementing agencies, so they would understand how it works, he said.

DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan said the master plan for the Bicol region river basin was updated under the Philippine-Korea Project Facilitation Program.

“We have completed the updating of the master plan to include also the basic parameters, taking into account the climate change,” he said during the meeting.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. requested the DPWH to dredge the low-lying areas of the Bicol River, particularly the Libmanan-Cabusao and the Nabua-Bato-Baao Lake.

The lawmaker said some areas are flood-prone because the river is too shallow, hence dredging could be an immediate solution before fully implementing the master plan.