MOST parts of the National Capital Region or Metro Manila will continue to experience flooding reminiscent of the Monody days for another 11 years, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
This after the DPWH admitted on Tuesday that full implementation of the flood control master plan will only be realized in 2035 because it involves some large-scale infrastructure projects.
Meanwhile, the damage to agriculture caused by the recent weather disturbances has breached the P545-million mark, affecting 23,580 farmers and fishermen.
In a television interview, Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan admitted that the master plan on flood management in Metro Manila is not even 30 percent complete, more than a decade after it was approved.
Bonoan said the DPWH has already completed 5,000 flood control projects since he assumed office but with the onslaught of typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon or habagat last week, floodwaters continued to inundate a large area of the metropolis.
The DPWH chief did not identify where in the country the 5,000 flood control projects were constructed or implemented.
Around P255 billion was allocated for the DPWH’s flood control program in the P5.768-trillion national budget for 2024, which he said was disproportionately large compared to other critical sectors.
Bonoan, however, defended that flood waters in many parts in the National Capital Region after typhoon Carina hit Metro Manila receded faster—about three days—compared to the previous years which took at least two weeks to resolve.
The death toll of Carina and the southwest monsoon has reached to 39, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), while the amount of damage caused by the bad weather to infrastructure has reached more than P1.6 billion.
Bonoan also said most of the Metro Manila flood control master plan were not yet implemented when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assumed office in 2022.
“Unfortunately when we came in, the flood projects were not yet started. The other flood control components,” he added.
Meanwhile, the NFRRMC reported that damage to infrastructure caused by Carina, the habagat and typhoon Butchoy has reached a total of P4.2 billion.
The agency said Region 3 logged the highest damage at P1.6-billion damage followed by Region 1 with P1.5 billion pesos equivalent to 115 infrastructures.
The NFRRMC said of the 39 fatalities, it 14 have been confirmed, while the 25 others were under validation.
It also said nine people were injured, while six were still missing.
The council said typhoon Carina, tropical depression Butchoy, and habagat affected 4,839,002 individuals or 1,317,111 families.
According to the NDRRMC, 2,005 houses were damaged 1,779 of them partially damaged, and 226 totally destroyed.
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