P352B project to make Metro flood-resilient

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has been getting inputs from both local and international experts on flood management and disaster risk reduction as it finalizes the government’s master plan for effective and comprehensive flood control in Metro Manila and outlying areas up to 2035.

The plan, which calls for at least P352 billion in infrastructure spending, also aims to “develop a safe society that is resilient to floods,” according to the DPWH’s Project Management Office for Major Flood Control Projects.

For his part, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said “the Aquino administration [was] committed to tackle and address flood management issues head-on.”

Speaking during the just-concluded Philippine Flood Management Knowledge Forum, held at the Asian Development Bank headquarters in Mandaluyong City, he said they “need everyone’s sustained cooperation and stakeholders’ collective participation to fully develop and effectively implement the flood control master plan for Metro Manila.”

“The DPWH is completing the master plan, which also covers Laguna Lake and the Bulacan and Pampanga rivers,” Singson added.

During his recent official visit to The Netherlands, the head of the DPWH checked out the country’s modern flood control system.

In a radio interview, Singson said they were considering adopting some of the flood control measures being implemented by the Dutch government.

P200-million project

Sometime in late July, the National Economic and Development Authority’s sub-committee on water resources approved the master plan, which covered at least 11 infrastructure projects, including the construction of several dams in Marikina that would cost nearly P200 million.

The Neda board headed by President Aquino later gave the plan the go-ahead.

Earlier in an interview, Patrick Gatan, head of the DPWH-PMO for Major Flood Control Projects, disclosed that after getting Malacañang’s approval, they would “start processing requests for funding and the preparatory tasks for the design of the priority projects.”

In August, the President announced during a visit to evacuation centers in flood-hit parts of Metro Manila that there were at least three infrastructure projects that could be finished in two to three years’ time to deal with the perennial flooding in the region and outlying areas.

He referred to a ring-road dike on the rim of Laguna de Bay, embankments and catch basins in the Marikina River watershed and an eight-kilometer dike and pumping station in the Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela) area.

A copy of a DPWH report provided to the Inquirer said “the construction of the Marikina dams plus improvements on the Pasig and Marikina river embankments [were] considered very high priority projects of the department.”

The projects were “intended to slow down floodwaters cascading into Metro Manila and nearby areas during heavy rains,” said the same report.

The department also listed the West Laguna lakeshore land-raising, with a budget requirement of P25.2 billion, as a “very high priority” project.

The DPWH has expressed confidence that most, if not all the 11 major flood control projects, would be completed before the end of Aquino’s term.

This, however, would require the relocation of at least 787,106 people, many of whom were illegal settlers, including more than 330,000 living along the Pasig-Marikina River and nearly 300,000 in Laguna lakeshore towns, said the agency.