SAN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga, Philippines?-Convinced of its relevance, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday ordered the implementation of a Marcos-era urban plan for Metro Manila, including the sandbagging of flood-prone areas and the construction of a spillway.

Ms Arroyo agreed with the recommendations of architect and urban planner Felino Palafox Jr. who made a PowerPoint presentation on the 1976-77 study ``Metro Manila Transport Land Use Development and Planning Project'' (Metro Plan) at a Cabinet meeting here.

Chief among these recommendations were pumping out floodwaters and sandbagging flood-prone areas; and the construction of a P20-billion Parañaque spillway linking Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay.

?We can ask BF to begin the master plan of Metro Manila, and then again back to the spillway option,'' Ms Arroyo said after the presentation, referring to Bayani Fernando of the Metro Manila Development Authority by his initials.

The World Bank-funded study conducted by the Department of Public Works and Highways was a comprehensive plan on land use development in the metropolis, but it was never implemented.

?This administration should not take all the blame because there was a Metro Plan in 1976, 1977,'' Palafox said as he began his 30-minute presentation at Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales' home.

Ms Arroyo, who ordered the creation of a commission to study the impact of powerful storms and seek aid for the country's rehabilitation, conceded that the recommendation that needed immediate implementation was sandbagging.

?We have what we can do between now and the end of the year. In the immediate, the sandbagging is very good and practical,'' she said.

Storms ?Ondoy'' (international codename: Ketsana) dumped heavy rains that inundated a vast swath of the metropolis on Sept. 26. After a week, typhoon ?Pepeng'' (International codename: Parma) pummeled northern Luzon, triggering heavy flooding and landslides.

But Ms Arroyo sounded most excited about the construction of the Parañaque spillway, another means to divert water from the Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay in addition to the Pasig River.

?And we should already ask the DPWH to work on the spillway,'' she said.

In his presentation, Palafox noted that 20 rivers flow into Laguna de Bay, and Manggahan Floodway was added to this, but without constructing a spillway.

?It's like having a toilet without a flush,'' he said.

The spillway can be a canal, a tunnel or an aqueduct like the Roman Empire?s aqueducts, he said. ?Even DPWH engineers say that with the spillway, the worst scenario is it will be 20 days flooding; without it at least, 65 days of flooding.''

Ms Arroyo pitched a proposal that the eight-kilometer-long spillway be built beside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on properly owned by the government, arguing this would save money for the government.

?The plan calls for the use of the entire length of the NAIA runway along the fence towards the Parañaque River. On the end of the runway along C-5 or Taguig, the drain can pass through the Food Terminal then on toward the Laguna de Bay. That will use government lots and less relocation of homes,'' she said.

Palafox aired reservations because the runway was longer than the spillway, and would pass through a bigger land mass, but said this was an option that could be studied.

?We will have to look at the cost effectiveness, but it?s an option. In other words it has to be the cheapest way to do it,'' Ms Arroyo said.

Quoting the Metro Plan, Palafox said the team that conducted the study, including himself, encouraged urban extension northeastward toward Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City and some portions of Bulacan, and southward toward Parañaque and Canlubang, Laguna.

As for the flood-prone areas, such as the Marikina Valley Fault and beyond, and the western shores of Laguna de Bay, they recommended ?controlled development'' but with the installation of sewerage, drainage and flood control systems.

?Development happened, but infrastructure was not put in place,'' he said, referring to the non-implementation of the building code and zoning, among others. ?There was a big disconnect in regulatory problem between the ones giving permits, and the ones developing.''

He also disclosed that the plan covered 40 towns and cities, taking into consideration people commuting to the metropolis, but this was overtaken by the Metro Manila Commission which encompassed 17 cities.

Palafox also lamented that the government initially followed Daniel Burnham's 1905 plan for Metro Manila, inspired by Paris and Venice.

?We were doing all right until we became a Republic. We forgot the lessons he gave us. Instead of following European cities as a model, we copied Los Angeles, Hollywood?s low-gated communities, low-rise buildings,'' he said.

?In vertical expansion, we followed the 1973 LA model ? urban sprawl. It's not sustainable because we practically covered the ground like a carpet,'' he said.

Apart from building the spillway, Palafox made the following recommendations, from the immediate to long-term: clearing rivers, esteros and lakes; relocating people to higher ground; establishing 100-year floodlines, and building higher than the 100-year floodlines; building elevated walkways; harvesting rainwater through cisterns; implementing flood control master plans; reforesting the hills; revising subdivision regulations, creating ``green islands''; and building floating bridges.