The Marcos administration is proposing the construction of five rainwater impounding facilities across Metro Manila to help reduce flooding during heavy rains and high tides.
The proposal was discussed in a recent meeting led by Executive Secretary Ralph Recto with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
The planned facilities will be located at Camp Aguinaldo and Miriam College in Quezon City, Remedios Circle and Rajah Sulayman Park in Manila, and the ASEAN Garden at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasay City.
Recto said the projects are designed to temporarily store large volumes of rainwater before they overwhelm drainage systems and flood nearby communities.
The five facilities are projected to hold a combined 107,600 cubic meters of water.
Camp Aguinaldo is expected to have the largest storage capacity at 50,000 cubic meters, followed by Miriam College at 30,000 cubic meters. The facilities at Remedios Circle and Rajah Sulayman Park are planned to store 10,000 and 8,000 cubic meters, respectively, while the ASEAN Garden site is designed for 9,600 cubic meters.
The MMDA will oversee the projects and has already submitted documents for four of the proposed sites to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. through the Office of the Executive Secretary and the Department of Budget and Management.
The projects have a combined indicative cost of about Php 4.05 billion, subject to government review, approval, budgeting and procurement procedures.
Funding is proposed under the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Assistance Program.
Recto said the goal is to manage rainwater before it reaches flood-prone communities and to protect homes, schools, businesses and public infrastructure.
The MMDA has also completed a feasibility study covering 39 proposed catchment and nature-based flood mitigation sites across Metro Manila.
