By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Wednesday that the government is finally moving to implement a flood control master plan that had remained unexecuted for decades, as severe monsoon rains continue to expose vulnerabilities in the country’s flood defenses.
Marcos made the statement after inspecting the damaged Aquino and Agana bridges in Tarlac City, both of which partially collapsed under strong river currents and sustained heavy rains brought by the southwest monsoon, or Habagat.
“We already have a master plan; it’s just never been executed,” Marcos said when asked about the government’s flood control strategy.
“We’re only executing it now. We have had a master plan for decades, but nothing was done about it until now,” he added.
The push to implement a long-term flood control strategy comes after widespread flooding across Luzon and other parts of the country following three successive cyclones and the enhanced southwest monsoon.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has reported 39 deaths, 20 injuries and three people still missing. Around 2.7 million families, or about 9.4 million people, have also been displaced by the flooding.
Marcos said the government would allocate P300 million to rehabilitate the Agana and Aquino bridges.
He said the Agana Bridge could reopen to pedestrians within a week and accommodate light vehicles weighing up to 10 tons within two weeks.
The Aquino Bridge, however, is expected to require more time to reopen because of the extent of damage.
The President has also directed government agencies and local governments to enforce existing laws, including restrictions covering no-build zones, as part of efforts to reduce the impact of severe weather.
Malacañang has been pushing longer-term measures involving waterways, drainage systems and land-use planning as the government responds to increasingly intense rainfall associated with climate change.
Marcos said the government would continue adapting its disaster preparedness measures to changing extreme weather conditions.
The lack of an integrated flood control master plan has been raised in Congress before.
During a Senate hearing in 2024, then Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan acknowledged that despite billions of pesos spent over the years on flood control programs, the country still lacked an integrated master plan.
Bonoan later became one of the respondents in the multibillion-peso flood control controversy.
The Office of the Ombudsman had filed plunder and graft charges before the Sandiganbayan against Bonoan, Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and several Department of Public Works and Highways officials over an alleged P573-million kickback scheme involving 2025 budget insertions and infrastructure projects.
Bonoan was later discharged from the cases after the Ombudsman sought to use him as a state witness.
Marcos’ announcement came as government agencies continue assessing the damage caused by successive weather disturbances and the enhanced Habagat, with flood control and disaster preparedness again at the center of national attention.
ia/xf
