Teachers continue cleaning classrooms at the Dampalit Elementary School 1 in Malabon City on July 29, 2024, days after floods swamped the school. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

RG Cruz

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/172249008232120240729-dampalit-school-flooding-JC7565.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Teachers continue cleaning classrooms at the Dampalit Elementary School 1 in Malabon City on July 29, 2024, days after floods swamped the school. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</div>MANILA – The Philippines has no integrated flood control master plan despite the massive funding allocated to flood control over the years, the Department of Public Works and Highways admitted in a Senate hearing on Thursday. DPWH Secretary Manny Bonoan said the 5,500 completed flood control projects that were announced during the State of the Nation Address were just immediate relief projects that began in the previous administration and were delayed by the COVID 19 pandemic. These projects are not part of an integrated master plan, he said. &quot;Ito yung immediate projects engineering interventions all over the country na di ho kasama sa master plan. Ito yung standalone projects to provide immediate relief to low lying areas,&quot; Bonoan said.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/31/mmda-blames-metro-flooding-to-insufficient-drainage-system-improper-waste-management-1626">MMDA: Trash, insufficient drainage system to blame for Metro Manila floods</a></div>Sen. Joel Villanueva remarked, “Yung 5,500 pala na programs projects na natapos na ipinagmalaki ng ating pangulo ay patsi-pasti lang. Di rin nakatulong kasi patsi-patsi nga po.” Bonoan said several master plans in the 18 major river basins were still being prepared.&quot;I have taken a look on all these river basins and most of them…are still being currently updated to take into account actually the climate change phenomenon and other factors,&quot; the official said. <div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/2024/7/27/how-to-handle-vehicles-submerged-in-flood-2038">How to handle vehicles submerged in flood</a></div>Sen. Imee Marcos then noted, “There&#x27;s an admission on the part of the DPWH that in fact a national flood control master plan still does not exist. Tama po ba yun kasi hiwa-hiwalay yung 18?” &quot;To some extent, that&#x27;s correct. But what I&#x27;m saying is actually there have been master plans before that were carried out… They&#x27;re just being updated at this point in time,&quot; Bonoan replied.&quot;I think it&#x27;s very telling that the master plan, the integrated master plan, is not in existence,&quot; Villanueva said.&quot;Kung ‘di po integrated, kung gagawin mo yun sa isang lugar yung kabilang side naman, yung kabilang probinsiya, kabilang town, kabilang barangay yun naman ang babahain,&quot; he added. <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/26/poe-vows-to-challenge-2025-budget-of-dpwh-mmda-amid-worsening-floods-1216">Poe vows to challenge 2025 budget of DPWH, MMDA amid &#x27;worsening&#x27; floods</a> Bonoan said there are 421 principal rivers all over the country, 18 of which are major rivers where the river basins are located.&quot;We have continued to expand on the projects initiated in the previous administration… This is a commitment for the continuity and ensures ongoing projects are completed efficiently and effectively thereby enhancing the flood management capabilities throughout the country,&quot; he said. Bonoan also admitted to senators that flood control projects in Bulacan and Pampanga, which he previously said would start this year, are still being prepared.“The process of doing the detail and design for this type of megaprojects takes time because we have to go on ground,&quot; the DPWH chief said. <div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/7/29/flood-control-gets-p257-billion-budget-for-2025-1520">Flood control gets P257 billion budget for 2025</a> President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has ordered the creation of a holistic and integrated flood management program, including water impounding facilities, Bonoan said.  Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga confirmed the president&#x27;s instructions. But she also confirmed that the government has been spending less over time on reforestation. &quot;The National Greening Program&#x27;s budget has been diminished over time and in fact at this point the P2.4 billion has actually been somehow divided between what will be part of the greening program itself and what will be spent on the protected areas in terms of management of these areas in terms of reforestation,&quot; Loyzaga said.  Sen. Marcos called the budget &quot;paltry.&quot; &quot;With such a meager budget are you going to address the 421 rivers, the 18 major river basins and all the coastal zones. I believe that that is a paltry sum given the expanse that you are expected to manage,&quot; the President&#x27;s sister said.</div><div> </div><div> </div>

The Philippines has no integrated flood control master plan despite the massive funding allocated to flood control over the years, the Department of Public Works and Highways admitted in a Senate hearing on Thursday.

The Philippines has no integrated flood control master plan despite the massive funding allocated to flood control over the years, the Department of Public Works and Highways admitted in a Senate hearing on Thursday.

Philippines lacks flood control master plan, DPWH admits | ABS-CBN

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Philippines lacks flood control master plan, DPWH admits

Philippines lacks flood control master plan, DPWH admits

RG Cruz

Published Aug 01, 2024 01:31 PM PHT

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Updated Aug 01, 2024 02:31 PM PHT

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