SENATOR Joel Villanueva called on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DWPH) to seriously address flooding issues and concretely implement flood control projects.
Villanueva said flooding happens because the flood control projects of the DPWH could not bear the brunt of storms due to its quality and durability.
"For example DPWH, isang bilyon sa isang araw ang pundo ng DPWH alone sa flood control alone. Nasan yun? Hindi iyon this year, last year pa. Ang National Government palpak ang programa," Villanueva said in a privilege speech on Monday, July 29, 2024.
Senator Grace Poe assured the Senate during their plenary session that the increased budget of P254 billion for DPWH in 2025 will go through rigorous and thorough screening.
"Sa darating na budget deliberations, dadaan sa butas ng karayom ang flood control projects ng DPWH, MMDA at iba pang mga ahensya. Dahil hindi ako sang-ayon na dagdagan ang budget para sa flood management hangga't hindi nila napapaliwanag nang maayos kung paano nila at saan nila ginagastos ang mga pondo noong mga nagdaang taon," Poe said.
Villanueva also demanded for an explanation and the real status of flood control project implementation, whether it is capable of addressing calamities or not.
“Hangga’t wala po tayong klarong solusyon o masterplan, mananatili itong ‘unli-baha,’ pero hindi po ‘unli’ ang resilience ng mga Pilipino, hindi po ‘unli’ ang pondo ng bayan, hindi po ‘unli’ ang buhay ng ating mga kababayan,” Villanueva said.
The National Capital Region was recently placed under a state of calamity due to the massive flooding brought about by the southwest monsoon and Typhoon Carina. (Grezel Balbutin, VSU intern)
