Poe to DPWH: Ensure infra projects solve flooding

Senator Grace Poe questions Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan regarding flooding issues in Metro Manila. FILE PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Grace Poe has asked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to lay down its existing infrastructure and plans to control the perennial flooding in Metro Manila.

During the deliberation of the Senate sub-committee on finance on the DPWH’s 2024 budget, Poe said a number of areas in the capital region easily get inundated after a sudden downpour which strands commuters, makes roads impassable and causes gridlock.

“Sa EDSA, kung umulan ng malakas, kahit sandali lang, baha na sa Camp Aguinaldo at tuloy tuloy na ang traffic hanggang Makati,” the head of the Senate committee on public services said.

(If it rains heavily, EDSA, even just for a short while, gets easily flooded especially near Camp Aguinaldo, and heavy traffic continues all the way to Makati.)

“May mga water pumps ba kayo? Please submit to our office kung ilan ang water pumps nyo at kung gumagana, kasi ano ba ang nagiging problema doon?” Poe added.

(Do you have any water pumps? Please submit to our office how many water pumps you have and if they are working because what really is the problem there?)

The senator also sought a report and video footages from the DPWH on the ongoing dredging projects in Metro Manila and nearby provinces to see their impact.

She said that contractors hired for dredging projects should ensure that the dredged materials are properly disposed.

“Itong dredging nakakatakot dahil minsan hindi naman ginagawa, hindi measurable. Can we ask the contractors and the DPWH to send us a daily video of what they dredge, how much and where they put the materials they dredge because if we don’t have proof that they’re doing it properly, we won’t be able to solve the perennial flooding,” Poe said.

(Dredging is scary because sometimes it’s not even being done, and it’s not measurable. Can we ask the contractors and the DPWH to send us a daily video of what they dredge, how much, and where they put the materials they dredge because if we don’t have proof that they’re doing it properly, we won’t be able to solve the perennial flooding.)

READ: Rainwater inundates most parts of Edsa once again on Thursday

Poe stressed that seeing to it that infrastructure projects are properly implemented is part of the oversight function of the Senate on departments which seek their budget from Congress.

“Malaking ginhawa sa ating mga kababayan kung masosolusyunan ang problema ng baha sa pamamagitan ng budget na pinagkakaloob ng Kongreso sa mga ahensya gaya ng DPWH,” Poe said.

(It would be a significant relief for our fellow countrymen if the problem of flooding could be resolved through the budget allocated by Congress to agencies like the DPWH.)