Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon inspects the Remedios pumping station along Roxas Boulevard in Manila.
Following flash floods and the ‘sea of garbage’ witnessed recently by no less than President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. himself, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will be implementing localized drainage master plans in direct consultation with city and municipal mayors to address Metro Manila’s broader flood crisis.
This was the decision of public works secretary Vivencio ‘Vince’ Dizon who stressed that the move would set the government’s response to the flooding problem at a more efficient and locally responsive level.
“Instead of waiting for a comprehensive national flood control and drainage master plan, we would rather push for our LGUs (local government units) to submit their own flood control management and mitigation agenda,” Dizon enthused in an interview while inspecting flood control projects in Navotas City.
The secretary cited the case of the Navotas local government where direct coordination with the city’s chief executive, Mayor John Reynald ‘Rey’ Tiangco, led to the immediate repair of six non-functioning pumping stations and the closure of coastal dike gaps in the city.
Thusly, to address recurring overflows along the San Juan River basin, Dizon announced that the DPWH will construct a network of flood-retarding basins across Quezon City under its 2027 budget submission.
“These retention basins will temporarily hold back mountain and urban runoff during peak downpours before slowly releasing water into the river system,” he pointed out.
“Almost all stormwater from Quezon City empties into the San Juan River, which eventually overwhelms it. By constructing retarding basins, we create a temporary buffer so runoff doesn’t hit the river all at once. In the past, the DPWH didn’t even consult mayors. Now we are building engineering solutions based on actual ground reality,” he explained.
Under the revised procurement and budgeting guidelines, Dizon declared that no project will be submitted to Congress unless it possesses a comprehensive master plan, an engineered design, mandatory feasibility studies and formal endorsements from both the Local Development Council (LDC) and the Regional Development Council (RDC).
“If a project lacks even one of these five requirements, it will not enter the budget—period,” the public works chief warned.
“This is one of our key safeguards so that past abuses won’t happen again. Previously, entries consisted merely of a project title and an arbitrary cost – meaning those figures were simply invented without any engineering studies on paper,” he added.
Dizon argued that under the new system, local chief executives will no longer be caught off guard by unvetted projects in their localities, as LDC and RDC clearances are now strictly required.
He outlined the primary target zones for the proposed 2027 flood management budget, prioritizing major river basins and low-lying coastal catchment areas nationwide.
Key priority locations include the Pampanga and Bulacan River Basins in Central Luzon; low-lying coastal municipalities in Cavite such as Kawit, Noveleta, Bacoor and Imus; the Bicol River Basin covering Naga City and Camarines Sur; Metro Cebu; Bacolod City; the Davao Region; Central Mindanao and Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in Northern Mindanao.