Press Release - Escudero: Senate to scrutinize flood control programs in 2025 budget

Senate President Francis "Chiz" G. Escudero expects to see intense scrutiny on the flood control programs of the government when the Senate begins next week its plenary debates on the proposed P6.352 trillion national budget.

With so many parts of the country devastated by the onslaught of Tropical Storm Kristine, Escudero is certain the flood control budget will be a hot topic when the Senate takes up the appropriations of agencies such as the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of National Defense-Office of Civil Defense.

"Flooding is not a modern-day phenomenon. It has been with us long before the birth of the republic. Every administration has its own 'Great Flood' to contend with," the Senate Chief said.

"We have geographical handicaps to begin with. Nasa typhoon alley tayo. Daanan tayo ng bagyo. Tapos we have a high annual rainfall--both a curse and a blessing. Maaring buenas kung tama lang, malas kung sumobra," he added.

In this era of climate change, Escudero said, typhoons are getting "more frequent, fiercer and fickler than before. Even Mindanao has lost its status as typhoon free."

"One reason is that human development has encroached on natural flood plains. No go, no build zones dapat mga 'yan. But population pressure on housing has forced us to roll the dice on that kaya tinayuan ng nga bahayan," he noted.

Forest denudation has also contributed to the problem and when the trees that intercept and absorb rain are gone and communities now stand in their place, Escudero said, "this is what we call a perfect storm."

"Theoretically, rising seas and higher flood waters must lead to rising appropriations and a higher budget for climate adaptation, of which, I must emphasize, flood control is but one component. Kaya ang budget ng Pilipinas ay unique. Disaster is becoming a de facto macroeconomic assumption. That is a given in the world's most calamity prone nation," Escudero said.

In 2023, according to data from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geographical and Astronomical Services Administration, a total of 11 tropical cyclones entered