With floods becoming an increasingly costly and disruptive reality across the country, leaders from government, business, and civil society gathered at the 2026 Stormwater Summit to call for a fundamental shift in how the Philippines tackles climate resilience—moving from disaster response to long-term preparedness and smarter water management.
Held at Makati Shangri-La on July 21, the summit served as a platform for policymakers, infrastructure experts, and advocates to champion proactive, watershed-based stormwater solutions and stronger collaboration across sectors. The event underscored one key message: building climate-resilient communities is a shared responsibility that requires innovation, coordination, and decisive action.
Building Resilience Before Disaster Strikes
Delivering the opening remarks, Presidential Adviser for Sustainable and Resilient Communities Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco highlighted the growing pressures of extreme weather, rapid urbanization, and environmental challenges across the Asia-Pacific region.
She stressed that protecting communities goes beyond rebuilding after disasters—it begins with reducing risks before they happen.
“The summit comes at an important time for the Philippines and the Asia Pacific region,” Frasco said. “Protecting communities is not only about responding after destruction. It’s about reducing risks before they become a crisis, strengthening preparedness, and creating conditions for sustainable development despite increasingly complex challenges.”
Frasco noted that climate-related disruptions impact not only infrastructure but also livelihoods, economic activity, and essential services that millions of Filipinos depend on every day.
Flood Control Is Everyone’s Responsibility
The summit also highlighted the need to rethink flood mitigation as more than just a government infrastructure concern.
Office of Civil Defense Ambassador Jose Sixto “Dingdong” Dantes delivered a compelling message on cultivating a culture of preparedness and prevention among Filipinos.
“Flooding has become so familiar that we’ve come to accept it as part of our daily lives,” Dantes said. “When it rains, we automatically assume there will be flooding. But it doesn’t have to be that way.”
Drawing from his experiences as an actor, television host, volunteer, navy reservist, and former National Youth Commission commissioner, Dantes reflected on the Filipino spirit of bayanihan during times of disaster.
“One of our greatest strengths as a people is our instinct to help one another,” he shared. “But what if we showed the same commitment before disasters happen and not only after?”
As ambassador of the Office of Civil Defense’s Panatag Pilipinas campaign, Dantes emphasized that preparedness should become part of everyday life.
“Preparedness is not living in fear—it is living with confidence,” he said.
Stronger Collaboration, Smarter Solutions
Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Charles Calima delivered the keynote address, “Innovating Against the Flood,” outlining the government’s ongoing efforts to address the country’s perennial flooding problems.
He reiterated President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to ensure flood control projects are effective, transparent, and directly benefit flood-prone communities.
“Flood control projects should work for the people who need them most, and there should be no ghost or substandard projects,” Calima said.
Among the government’s flagship initiatives is the DPWH’s Oplan Kontra Baha program, which seeks to mitigate severe flooding in low-lying areas through partnerships with local government units and the private sector.
Calima emphasized that no single agency can solve flooding alone.
“Water knows no boundaries,” he said. “The intervention is not simply another structure—the intervention is coordination.”
He called for stronger collaboration among national agencies, LGUs, civil society organizations, and private stakeholders to implement integrated stormwater management strategies.
Lessons from Singapore’s Water Success Story
The summit also looked beyond Philippine borders for proven solutions.
PUB Consultants Pte. Ltd. Managing Director Ryan Yuen shared how Singapore transformed its water vulnerabilities into a globally recognized model for sustainable water management through his presentation, Building Resilience Drop by Drop: Singapore’s Stormwater Solutions and the Crucial Role of Earth Control Measures.
As Singapore’s National Water Agency, PUB manages both water sustainability and flood resilience through integrated planning and infrastructure development.
Yuen highlighted several similarities between Singapore and the Philippines, including dense urban environments and intense rainfall patterns, making integrated stormwater strategies particularly relevant.
Among Singapore’s key practices are:
- Water reuse and recycling initiatives
- Separate systems for stormwater collection and wastewater management
- Robust flood mitigation infrastructure
- Strict implementation of Earth Control Measures (ECM) to minimize erosion and silt pollution
He welcomed the Philippines’ growing interest in adopting a more holistic approach to water management.
Embracing Innovation for Climate-Resilient Cities
Private sector innovation also took center stage during the summit.
April Yang, CEO of Singapore-based engineering and water technology company Flexi Systems and FloodX, showcased emerging technologies that help businesses, communities, and governments better prepare for flooding.
Her presentation, Protecting Catchments & Waterways, Supporting Resilient Cities, focused on practical and scalable flood mitigation solutions.
Flexi Systems, which distributes flood defense technologies through brands such as Dam Easy and FloodX, provides integrated environmental and digital solutions for stormwater treatment, erosion control, and flood protection. The company serves clients worldwide, including in the Philippines through exclusive local distributor Scottsdale Corporation.
Yang encouraged stakeholders to explore innovative and globally tested solutions, particularly Earth Control Measures that prevent soil erosion and contaminated runoff from entering waterways.
These measures include:
- Perimeter cut-off drains
- Silt fences
- Silty water treatment systems
- Adjustable flood barriers for homes and businesses
- Advanced flood defense systems for coastal, commercial, industrial, and residential developments
She noted that while countries like Singapore have successfully institutionalized such practices through strong environmental regulations, similar frameworks remain an opportunity for development in the Philippines.
A Shared Commitment for the Future
Archipelago Media Editor-in-Chief Andrew Masigan facilitated discussions throughout the summit and delivered the closing remarks, emphasizing the country’s urgent need to rethink water management.
“For a country that receives so much rain, we have not learned to manage water well,” Masigan said. “This is the great paradox of water management in the Philippines—we suffer because we have too much water, then we suffer again because we don’t have enough.”
He added that meaningful change will only come through sustained collaboration and innovation.
By the close of the 2026 Stormwater Summit, participants shared a common understanding: effective and sustainable stormwater management cannot be achieved by government or industry alone. Building flood-resilient and climate-ready communities will require collective action, forward-thinking policies, and a commitment to investing in infrastructure that protects both lives and livelihoods for generations to come.