Marcos orders DPWH, DENR to revise flood control masterplan

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Department of Environment and Natural Resource (DENR), and other agencies to revise the government’s flood control masterplan.

Marcos issued the remark as the country is battered by consecutive storms in the last quarter of the year. 

Tropical Storm Nika left the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Tuesday while Signal No. 5 is currently hosted in some areas due to Super Typhoon Ofel. Meanwhile, tropical storm with international name Man’Yi may enter PAR on Thursday evening.

Last week, tropical cyclones Kristine, Leon, and Marce also pummeled several parts of the country.

“Ang sabi ko nga, ang bagyo ngayon iba na. May mga flood control tayo pero dahil sa mas maraming tubig na dulot ng pag-ulan, hindi na nakakayanan,” he said in a speech during the aid distribution in Oriental Mindoro.

(Like I said, storms at this day and age are different. We have flood control but there’s too much water brought by the rains and it can’t cope.) 

“Kaya inatasan ko na rin ang DPWH, DENR, at iba pang ahensya na rebisahin ang Flood Control Masterplan upang makasabay sa patuloy na paglakas ng mga bagyo,” he added.

(So I tasked the DPWH, the DENR, and other agencies to revise the Flood Control Masterplan so it can adapt to the increasingly strong typhoons.)

He also ordered the DPWH, the Department of Transportation, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, and the LGUs to ensure the integrity of road networks and other infrastructures.

According to the Presidential Communications Office, the Marcos administration has allocated almost P600 million for flood control projects in MIMAROPA.

It said that structures worth P214 million have been completed in various barangays in the area.

Meanwhile, Marcos also called for a whole-of-nation approach to mitigate the effects of climate change in the country.

He said he instructed the DENR and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to urge local government units (LGUs) to use geohazard maps which may identify landslide-prone and flood-prone areas.

“Hinihimok ko rin ang ating mga kababayan na sumunod sa mga babala ng inyong lokal na pamahalaan para sa inyong kaligtasan,” he said.

(I am also calling on our countrymen to comply with the warnings of LGUs.) 

The government distributed P10,000 each to 4,546 farmers and fishermen in Oriental Mindoro, amounting to a total of P46 million.—AOL, GMA Integrated News