Gaps in disaster response also bring risk of conflict, group says

People wade through a flooded street in Manila on July 21, 2025, as enhanced southwest monsoon brought heavy rains and flooding to different parts of the Philippines. Five people were confirmed dead while seven have been reported missing, according to the country's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Ted Aljibe, AFP

MANILA — Amid what it said were "escalating climate risks", a group is urging the government to push for conflict-sensitive disaster response, ensure equal distribution of relief, and improve outdated flood control systems.

In a statement, non-government organization Climate Conflict Action Asia (CCAA) said issues like unequal distribution — for example, only to those sheltering in evacuation centers — could lead to conflict.

"When deliveries are inconsistent or perceived as unfair, tensions flare between neighbors and even spark localized disputes over scarce resources," it said.

It also called for conflict-sensitive management at evacuation centers, saying crowded shelters "can become tinderboxes of frustration and rivalry between evacuee groups."

The group said the country's disaster response should consider these factors and go "from purely reactive relief to proactive prevention."

It said while Filipinos deal with persistent rains and flooding due to cascading storms — now part of the "new norm", according to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. —  the country's "disaster playbook" is still falling short due to lack of community-anchored, conflict-aware strategies.

"Our disaster response systems are straining under the weight of simultaneous, extended emergencies. This gap between mounting climate risks and under‑resourced response capacities poses an urgent threat not only to lives and livelihoods, but also to community stability," the group said.

It said that displaced families who are forced to move to a new community because of disasters could "[strain] local services and potentially igniting land‑use disputes."

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DISASTER PLANS SHOULD INCLUDE 'PEACEBUILDING'

CCAA is urging local government units to integrate "peacebuilding measures" in evacuation centers, aid distribution, and rescue missions.

It also suggested having community counterparts of national disaster agencies that are "able to mobilize rescue teams and pre‑position supplies without waiting for centralized orders."

The organization also see the need for a "whole-of-government" approach in responding to disasters and the necessity to improve the "outdated [flood] control systems and generic disaster plans."

"Outdated control systems and generic disaster plans must be replaced with geospatially informed, climate‑resilient designs—tailored to the unique topography and runoff patterns of each locality," CCAA added.

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The group applauded the San Juan City LGU for "for proactively strengthening their pre‑emptive response capacity" in tracking the weather, having better coordination in rescue and relief operations, and improving information dissemination.

It said local municipalities must not shoulder the burden and encouraged the administration to provide sustained funding and robust oversight on a national level.

LACSON: WHAT HAPPENED TO P2 TRILLION FLOOD MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS SINCE 2011?

Meanwhile, Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson is wondering why flooding continues to threaten communities despite yearly increases in the budget for the country's flood control programs,

In a press release, the senator questioned the effectivity of the Philippines' flood management.

He said the Department of Public Works and Highways has supposedly spent an estimated P2 trillion for flood management over the past 15 years — or P350 million a day since 2011.

Lacson explained that with the amount already spent, the Philippines could have bought "one dredging machine every day and use part of the excess of P65 million for operating expenses and maintenance."

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"Isn’t it absurd that the rise of floodwaters in our 'malas' country is directly proportional to the increase in the annual budget for the national government’s flood management program?" he wrote in a post on X, Friday afternoon.

Lacson plans to grill government officials on flood control projects, especially on what he said was "inequitable and distorted allocation of funds" for flood management in some areas in the 2025 budget.

On Friday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said at least 25 people are dead from the impact of back-to-back cyclones.

Out of the total, nine deaths were reported in Metro Manila. Calabarzon, Western Visayas, Negros Island, Northern Mindanao logged three fatalities each, while Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Davao Region, and Caraga recorded one each.

Only three of the reported deaths have been confirmed so far. 

At least 84 towns and cities have declared a state of calamity, while a total of 2,900 houses have been damaged by the inclement weather.

Dozens of roads remained flooded on the same day, prompting authorities to close them or limit the access of the motorists.

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