Villanueva: I’ll resign if DPWH can say reclamation didn’t worsen Bulacan flooding

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva on Wednesday said he would resign if anyone in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) can say that the reclamation projects in Manila Bay have not worsened the flooding in Bulacan province.

During the Senate Public Works committee's hearing into flooding issues in the country, the lawmaker said that residents of Bulacan believe that the floods in their province have worsened since the start of the reclamation projects in Manila Bay.

He then asked DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan if there are studies that show that reclamation projects add to the problem of flooding.

“I won’t be able to offer an answer at this point of time because I don’t think any department has really gone into a technical assessment,” Bonoan responded.

“Technically po…there’s nothing wrong with reclamation for as long as it will not impede the flow of the rivers going out of the bay because the bay is a very large body of water,” he added.

Villanueva pressed Bonoan to answer if he thinks the reclamation projects worsen the flooding, but the DPWH secretary said he “cannot offer an answer.”

“Ako ho magsasabi sa inyo, secretary…may mga [undersecretary] po kayo taga-Bulacan, ang dami niyo ditong taga-Bulacan. Kung merong isa sa inyo na magsasabi na hindi nakasama na, na hindi tumaas ang baha dahil sa reclamation, magre-resign po ako,” Villanueva said.

(I will tell you, Secretary, you have undersecretaries who are from Bulacan, there are so many of you from Bulacan. If just one of you can say that the floods didn't become worse due to reclamation, I will resign.)

Villanueva added that he is not against reclamation but he is just lamenting that the government apparently just agreed to the projects in Manila Bay.

The massive flooding in Bulacan and other parts of the country triggered the Senate hearing into the status of flood control programs of the government.

At the early part of the hearing, Senator Cynthia Villar asked Bonoan if the reclamation projects will not cause flooding, saying they might block the water flow from Las Piñas and Bacoor rivers to Manila Bay.

“I’m asking you. I want your answer now because I’m not staying here forever. I just want to ask that question para linawin natin sa mga tao kasi maski sa press release niyo walang nagsasabi sa inyo na [to make it clear to the public necause even in your press release nobody says that] maybe part of the reason [of flooding] is the reclamation,” Villar said.

The lawmaker also said that Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga is "afraid" of influential people who are pushing for the reclamation projects in Manila Bay.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has already suspended all reclamation projects in Manila Bay except for one.

The president said these projects are under review because of problems in their implementation. — BM, GMA Integrated News