SAN FERNANDO CITY — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said flood mitigation projects were overwhelmed by heavy monsoon rains, resulting in major flooding across Central Luzon.
“We really felt how heavy the rain was. So much water fell, which is why all of our flood management programs were overwhelmed,” the president said during a situation briefing at the Pampanga provincial capitol with various cabinet secretaries, governors, and mayors on Monday.
Some flood works were left unfinished, compounding the problem, he said.
He said around 500 millimeters of rain poured down — more than the total 24-hour rainfall recorded during Typhoon Ondoy in 2009.
In Pampanga alone, the monsoon rains inundated 253 villages in 16 local government units, affecting more than one million residents.
It also caused agricultural damage totaling P1.4 billion.
To address the issue, Marcos outlined a three-pronged national strategy focused on immediate relief, medium-term infrastructure, and long-term coastal defenses.
“In the immediate term, of course, we will fix the damage,” he said.
He noted, however, that comprehensive assessment and rebuilding must wait until the floodwaters fully drain to avoid wasting government resources.
“We can’t assess the damage yet because there is still water. Because even if the damage is fixed now, if it comes back, the new project will be damaged again,” the president said.
For medium-term mitigation, the government plans to build five Sabo-type dams across rivers in Nueva Ecija to slow down water flow from the Sierra Madre, trap silt, and store water for agricultural and household use.
For long-term protection, Marcos said there is a proposal to build a 100-kilometer coastal road extending toward Pilar, Bataan, to block seawater surges from Manila Bay.
Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda called on the president to fund the proposed flood control master plan of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).
Pineda told The Manila Times that Pampanga has been prone to flooding because of the rainwater flowing from the Sierra Madre.
“At times, we can no longer cope with the volume of water rushing down from above, so I appealed to the president — asking him to take pity on my constituents — because Pampanga’s situation is unique; the downstream towns risk being wiped off the map,” she said in Filipino.
Floods from monsoon rains have swamped 253 villages in Pampanga, affecting a total of 1,009,257 individuals.
While the president was in San Fernando City, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon and Cabinet Secretary Benhur Abalos were inspecting flood-hit communities in Hagonoy and Paombong in Bulacan.
