Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — If the government is serious about its “Bagong Pilipinas” brand of governance, it must fix the perennial problem of flooding in many areas in the country caused by the flood control dams the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has left unfinished.
The dam problem was discussed during the plenary session on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, when Majority Floor Leader Senator Joel Villanueva, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano raised different persistent issues with the country’s flood control system.
Villanueva, a senator from Bulacan, called on his colleagues to investigate the government’s plans and programs for the country’s urban drainage system and flood protection of Metro Manila and other vulnerable areas, citing the perennial flooding in his home province.
He pointed out that he has been urging the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and other relevant agencies to develop programs to address the problem since 2016.
Legarda, for her part, urged the National Power Corporation (NPC) to update its protocols for releasing water from dams during typhoons, taking into account the best water route based on the land-use plans of the areas where Angat, Bustos, and Ipo Dams are located.
Cayetano, on the other hand, said the government must focus on the problem because countless Filipinos are left helpless when their homes and properties get flooded.
He called out the DPWH for its unfinished flood control dams, saying it has been 12 years since the problem was revealed in a Senate hearing but nothing has apparently been done to solve it.
“Natuklasan n’ung hearing na y’un [na] may flood control part na hindi tinuloy ng gobyerno. And this was more than 10 years ago and after that I thought maaayos na lahat. Baka pwede pong isama ‘yan sa titingnan. Kasi same areas ang binaha nung time na y’un – Tarlac, Pampanga, and Bulacan,” he said.
(It was discovered during the hearing that there was a flood control project that the government discontinued. And this was more than 10 years ago, and after that, I thought everything was going to be okay. Perhaps that can be included in the things to be considered. Because the same areas were flooded during that time – Tarlac, Pampanga, and Bulacan.)
The three senators’ manifestations were referred to the Senate Public Works Committee for appropriate action.
In a previous interview, Cayetano expressed his desire to scrutinize the DPWH’s proposed budget for 2024 during the National Budget hearings starting this August to ensure that it is allocated to the right infrastructure projects.
He said the department’s budget is usually the second highest among government agencies and it allocated 25 percent of it to flood control this year instead of utilizing it for the building of new roads.
“Damay-damay na po. Kung napansin niyo po, ilang beses itinaas ang MacArthur Highway pero hindi naman in-upgrade y’ung iba[ng kalsada] kaya y’ung tubig wala talagang pupuntahan,” he said in the interview.
(Let’s all be affected together. If you’ve noticed, the MacArthur Highway has been elevated several times, but other roads were not upgraded, so the water really has nowhere to go.)
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