MANILA — A former public works and highways official on Tuesday maintained that a water impounding system in Pampanga was the most viable solution to its perennial flooding problem, which gained national attention anew after the province was inundated by monsoon rains and recent typhoons.

Rogelio Singson, who previously served as the public works and highways secretary under the Aquino administration, responded to concerns that the system could affect the livelihoods of thousands of farmers in Candaba town.

Pampanga 4th District Rep. Anna York Bondoc had strongly opposed the proposal during a briefing with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday.

• Pagtatayo ng water impounding projects kontra baha sa Pampanga iniutos ni Marcos

"I think she really misunderstood the proposal," said Singson, who is currently president and CEO of Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation.

"Ang kailangan lang namin, para mabawasan iyang baha na iyan, mga 200 hectares—10 percent lang ng buong Candaba swamp, tapos gagawin naming imbakan ng tubig. Para ganoon during dry season, mayroon kayong magagamit pang-irigasyon... saka mababawasan iyong overflow ng Pampanga River," he told TeleRadyo Serbisyo.

(To address the flooding problem, we only need 200 hectares or 10 percent of the whole Candaba swamp where we could impound water. This way, farmers could have a storage of water for their irrigation when the dry season comes. At the same time, the overflow of the Pampanga River would be reduced.)

He likened the proposed project to a similar water cistern at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City that he had helped make.

"Isipin mo iyong ginawa namin sa Fort Bonifacio. May baha ba ang Fort Bonifacio? Wala. Gumawa lang kami ng lungga ng tubig doon sa Burgos Circle," he said.

(Think about what we did in Fort Bonifacio. Is there flooding in Fort Bonifacio? No, because we built a water cistern at Burgos Circle.)

If the cistern was not built and the Fort's drainage pipes were directed at the creek near Pinagkaisahan, Makati City, a portion of EDSA and Kalayaan Avenue would be constantly flooded, Singson added.

Should the water impounding system in Pampanga be built, it would only take 18 to 24 months to complete and would cost the government some P2.4 billion, which Singson said was only a small portion of the DPWH's P250-billion budget for flood control projects.

Singson had floated the idea of water impounding during the Pampanga briefing with Marcos and local officials, where Rep. Bondoc had threatened to walk out should his proposal push through.

"Hindi po kami papayag sa impounding ng Candaba swamp. That is a wrong concept and we are not going to allow that... If you want a security problem, sirain n'yo po ang hanapbuhay po ng lahat ng mga magsasaka sa Candaba, magwo-walk out po kami dito," she said.

(We will not allow the impounding of Candaba swamp... If you want a security problem, go ahead and ruin the livelihoods of all the farmers in Candaba. We will walk out from here.)

But Marcos responded to Bondoc's concerns, saying that dredging was "temporary and exceedingly expensive."

He also assured that the government would address the needs of the farmers that would be affected by the proposed project.

"Wala tayong interes na sirain ang hanapbuhay [ng mga] farmer... We'll find something else for them to do. We'll find another piece of land, hindi naman natin sila pababayaan," he said.

(We have no interest in destroying the livelihoods of our farmers. We will not leave them behind.)

RELATED VIDEO:

Watch more News on iWantTFC