Master plan can fix 70% of flood problem

AT least 70 percent of Metro Manila's problem with flooding is expected to be mitigated once the government fully implements its Comprehensive Flood Management Master Plan, Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan said on Tuesday.

In a briefing in Malacañang, Bonoan noted that the Department of Public Works and Highways is now in the thick of engineering interventions to address the perennial problem of massive flooding in the National Capital Region, such as what happened last week during the onslaught of Typhoon Carina and the torrential rains it brought.

«We believe that by addressing the drainage program and related concerns, we can mitigate 70 to 80 percent of the flooding problems in Metro Manila,» Bonoan said. «We are doing the best that we can, actually now, to implement all the necessary flood control projects to mitigate the flooding problems in many parts of the country.»

ALL ABOUT FLOODS President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. presides over a sectoral meeting on preparing for La Niña on July 30, 2024 at the State Dining Room of Malacañan Palace. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The master plan was crafted during the Aquino administration, «which is not even 30 percent complete,» Bonoan said, but the present leadership is bent on implementing the different components of the blueprint.

«This is the master plan that we are implementing. The components laid out in the master plan are still in place,» the official said.

This includes the planned Marikina Dam — to be built atop the Wawa Dam and the Manggahan Flood Control Gate. Both are projected to trap floodwater from upstream so as not to submerge low-lying areas in the NCR during the monsoon season.

Advertisement President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. presides over a sectoral meeting on preparing for La Niña and ensuring effective measures in flood risk areas in Malacañang on July 30, 2024. PHOTOS BY YUMMIE DINGDING / PPA POOL President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. presides over a sectoral meeting on preparing for La Niña and ensuring effective measures in flood risk areas in Malacañang on July 30, 2024. PHOTOS BY YUMMIE DINGDING / PPA POOL President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. presides over a sectoral meeting on preparing for La Niña and ensuring