MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. feels the anger of the public concerning the flood control scandal but he would not want to blame any previous administration with regard to their apparent failure to implement master plans to mitigate flooding.
Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro stressed this when asked if the President feels Filipinos' anger insofar as the reported anomalies on flood control projects are concerned.
"Nararamdaman po [niya]. Sinabi [niya] po iyan sa amin. (He feels it. He told us [about] that)," Castro said on Wednesday during a press briefing.
"And we also really need to explain and show our countrymen: what is this administration actually doing about it," the Palace press officer said.
"For now, the President does not want to point fingers at leaders from previous administrations. The President does not want to point out who should be held liable; that is already up to the investigation," she said.
Castro said the President’s focus right now "is to fix everything that can be fixed, repaired, or constructed so that we can find solutions to flooding much faster, especially since, again, climate change is already here and we are already feeling its impacts."
"However, if evidence surfaces showing that there were indeed ghost projects, these will not be brushed aside. If solid evidence is found, those responsible must truly be held accountable," she said.
"Because if they claim that many flood control projects were completed in the past, but it turns out those were just numbers added to pad accomplishments -- which we now cannot see or feel -- then people need to be held accountable. That is also what the President wants," she added.
Castro said that there are old master plans that were never implemented. "Right now we might no longer be able to use the master plans from the 1940s and 1930s, so those are being updated."
She said that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is updating the flood control master plans for the 18 major river basins and other critical principal rivers.
She said that according to DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon the department has already updated master plans and feasibility studies for 16 major basins, while those for the Cagayan and Pasig-Marikina-Laguna Bay River Basins are targeted to be finalized by the end of 2026.
