METRO MANILA and most of the country will have no respite from heavy rains and flooding at the start of the week as a tropical depression intensifies the southwest monsoon or “habagat,” the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Sunday.
Tropical Depression Pilandok was bearing down on Northern Luzon with 45-kilometer-per-hour winds and gusts of up to 55 kph, Pagasa said.
While it is not expected to make landfall, the storm will enhance the southwest monsoon and induce it to unleash torrential rain that could last until Tuesday.
Pagasa forecasts 100 to 200 millimeters of rain from Sunday to Monday afternoon in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Abra, Benguet, Pangasinan, Zambales, Tarlac, Pampanga and Bataan.
It predicted 50 to 100 mm of rain from Sunday to Monday in Metro Manila, Apayao, Kalinga, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Occidental Mindoro.
Rains fell almost nonstop in Metro Manila and a large part of Luzon last week.
The Manila City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department reported Sunday that the volume of rain in Manila on Saturday was equal to 10 days of rainfall.
The heaviest downpour was recorded at 4 p.m., the department said.
Christian John Evangelista, the agency’s resident meteorologist, said the Saturday rainfall reached 147.4 millimeters at the agency’s rain-measuring station at Dr. Alejandro Albert Elementary School in Sampaloc.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said on its Facebook page on Sunday that based on the records from Pagasa’s Science Garden Station in Quezon City, the rainfall in the metropolis on Saturday reached 186 mm.
The MMDA said that floodwaters quickly receded after mobile pumps were deployed and earlier efforts to clear clogged waterways.
In Sto. Tomas town in Pampanga, thousands of residents have endured nearly three weeks of flooding, prompting Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon to propose a long-term, integrated solution that includes deepening tributaries of the Pampanga River and building a massive floodwater holding basin.
Dizon said there will be no instant fix, but the prolonged flooding in Sto. Tomas underscored the urgency of building a system capable not only of draining excess water faster but also of storing and eventually putting the water to productive use.
“This is a complicated problem. There is no fast solution,” Dizon said.
The Pampanga River basin has long been among Central Luzon’s most flood-vulnerable areas.
DPWH studies note that large portions of the basin are highly vulnerable to flooding, with runoff from upstream areas moving slowly downstream and prolonged inundation lasting for weeks or even months in some low-lying communities.
The government has identified Sto. Tomas as a priority area in the Central Luzon-Pampanga Floodway project, which aims to redirect excess water from the upper river basin to Manila Bay.
In an interagency meeting led by Dizon and Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda, government agencies, Manila Water, the Asian Development Bank, and private and foreign consultants discussed a proposed Bulk Water Project that could capture accumulated rainwater for potable and industrial use.
The proposed water project is still in the study stage, with its capacity, cost and construction timetable yet to be finalized.
It is being evaluated alongside DPWH’s plans for the Central Luzon river basin to ensure that flood management, water supply, irrigation and environmental concerns are addressed as one system.
By 2027, the government plans to build five dams and detention basins on the Pampanga River, representing a shift toward basin-wide management, replacing isolated drainage projects with a system designed to capture and redirect floodwaters before they overwhelm residential areas downstream.
Always focused
On Sunday, Malacañang spokesman Claire Castro said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is “always focused” on the situation of communities submerged in floods amid the persistent habagat rains.
Castro made the remark when sought to comment on a viral video that showed the president singing and enjoying time with his family.
The video was taken during the recent birthday celebration of first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos. Some of the netizens said it was insensitive of the president to celebrate during a week of flooding.
“The president is always focused on the situation. He is monitoring the condition of our countrymen and the affected towns,” Castro said in a text message.
“The President is the President, no matter where he is. Allocating a few hours for his family does not mean his duties or the operations of the government come to a halt,” she said.
Marcos “has ordered and reminded government agencies to respond swiftly to the needs of the victims of the severe downpour,” Castro said.
Sen. JV Ejercito on Sunday pushed for a comprehensive infrastructure and national development master plan as the Senate scrutinizes the DPWH’s proposed P643.95 billion budget, which includes about P107 billion earmarked for flood control.
Ejercito, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, said he has consistently advocated infrastructure development, transport modernization and a long-term master plan, which he believes would help the Philippines catch up with its Southeast Asian neighbors.
“We need a real blueprint — a master plan that we can actually pass into law, so that whoever becomes president, it will continue,” Ejercito said in a radio interview.
“This will not only allow us to catch up and improve our infrastructure, but it will also help prevent corruption, like what happened in the flood control scandal, where projects were simply initiated even though they were not part of any master plan, or were implemented even when they were not necessary, because we know they were being pursued simply as a way to make money,” he added.
Ejercito also said flood control projects should be based on identified flood-prone areas and major river basins.
He cited the controversy involving former representative Zaldy Co as an example of why flood control projects should be guided by a comprehensive plan and objective criteria.
“If we pass the master plan for infrastructure development, we can avoid this,” he said.
