COTABATO CITY, Philippines—The Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) said the government has been implementing projects aimed at preventing floods in various parts of Mindanao, contrary to public perceptions that it has failed to do anything about recent flooding in the region.
In fact, members of the Mindanao River Basin (MRB)-Technical Working Group (MRB-TWG) was convened by Minda on Tuesday, according to Minda chair Luwalhati Antonino.
Antonino, in a media statement sent out on Wednesday, said the meeting was aimed at reviewing ongoing projects aimed to provide long-term solutions to the flooding and to speed up the technical preparations needed for the construction and implementation of what she said were structural and non-structural flood control interventions.
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“Structural interventions are composed of infrastructure and other flood-control projects, while non-structural interventions include reforestation, mangrove rehabilitation, and sustainable watershed management,” Antonino said.
She said that the government has been aiming to address the issue of flooding “beyond the piecemeal method.”
Antonino said the MRB master plan was the product of years of research and study on the root of the regular flooding in areas around the
Liguasan Marsh, the Rio Grande de Mindanao and those near other waterways.
Under the master plan, she said that seven structural projects have started.
These include the P39.89 million River Bank Protection Project along the Cotabato-GenSan Road in Tamontaka, Cotabato City; the P174.19 million Simuay Flood Control Project in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao; the P46 million Allah River Flood Control Project in Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat; the P50 million and P74.5 million Libungan Flood Control Projects in Libungan, North Cotabato; the P72.5 million Carmen River Bank Protection with Revetment Flood Control Project in Lumayong, Carmen, North Cotabato; and the P15.2 million University of Southern Mindanao Flood Control Project Phase I in Kabacan, North Cotabato.
Six more flood control projects in the MRB with a budget of P6.9 billion were also being prioritized. These are the channel modification of the Ambal-Simuay River; dredging of the Rio Grande de Mindanao; dredging and dike construction along the Tunggol River including the expansion of the Tunggol bridge in Datu Montawal, Maguindanao; construction of revetment dikes along the Ala River in Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato; construction of revetments along the Buluan River; and the construction of revetments along the Tamontaka River.
“The DPWH central office has already prioritized these projects and the detailed engineering is expected to be completed by the end of the year,” Antonino said.
She said a massive reforestation program was also being undertaken under the government’s Barangay StraTREEgic Forest Project (BSFP) as part of the non-structural anti-flood efforts. With a report from Charlie Señase, Inquirer Mindanao
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