Flooding and water shortage are perennial problems that keep hounding the country year in and year out.
This could have long been resolved, or at least mitigated, if only Republic Act No. 6716—the Rainwater Collector and Springs Development Act of 1989—is being religiously implemented.
Under the current administration, President Marcos is taking a step further in a bid to address these perennial problems.
Last month, President Marcos revealed his administration’s plan to construct large water impounding facilities outside Metro Manila as part of his program in addressing these problems.
While previous projects have zeroed in on efforts to control flooding, Marcos is incorporating floodwater management by putting up water impounding facilities. Through this, floodwater will be stored and eventually made to good use during the dry season.
“Let us not waste water because we will need that in the future. That’s why we are also looking for a way to impound the water. We are now looking for areas outside Metro Manila where we can build large impounding facilities,” Marcos said in a video message shortly after his sectoral meeting with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) last month at Malacañan Palace to discuss the government’s flood control programs.
Marcos said that through these water impounding facilities, flooding in Metro Manilla will be addressed; at the same time the rainwater collected may be used for agriculture, particularly irrigation, when the need arises.
To realize his objective, Marcos has directed the Water Resources Management Office (WRMO) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to come up with a comprehensive plan to protect coastal communities and Metro Manila from flooding. The focus of the plan includes ongoing flood control projects in Pampanga, Cavite, Leyte, and Cagayan de Oro City.
In his directive, Marcos cited the need for a comprehensive plan for flood control and management—where the floodwaters should go and what should be done.
We hail President Marcos for eyeing a climate resilient plan that shoots two birds with one stone. We, likewise, hope that everyone in the bureaucracy will play his or her role to realize this plan.
