Governor: P26 billion for flood control, yet flooded to the max

MANILA, Philippines —  With much of Cebu in ruins and the death toll from Typhoon Tino hitting 111, Gov. Pamela Baricuatro lamented that “we’re flooded to the max” despite P26 billion allocated for flood control in the province.

Baricuatro, in interviews yesterday, called for probes to determine accountability for what many Cebu residents described as their first brush with torrential flooding.

Malacañang said yesterday that 343 flood control projects were recorded in Cebu between 2016 and 2022 and 168 more from 2022 to 2025.

At a press conference yesterday, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro urged Baricuatro to provide information on anomalous flood control projects after the governor’s lament posted on Facebook.

“That’s the reason why President Marcos Jr. has ordered the investigation  because he saw the impact. There were budgets allocated but it doesn’t seem to be working. So if she is angry, that’s what President Marcos Jr. feels too,” Castro said.

“If she has any more information, facts, data that Gov. Baricuatro can provide to our government to hold those who should be held accountable, that is welcome,” Castro said.

She added that the investigation on the flood control projects in Cebu should not only cover those undertaken during the administration of Marcos.

“Our initial data is that 343 flood control projects were completed from 2016 to 2022 in Cebu from the 1st district, 2nd district, 3rd, 4th , 5th, 6th, 7th and up to the city so, let’s work together to find those who should be held accountable for the anomalous flood control projects,” Castro added.

At the same time, Castro said Marcos is expected to visit Cebu to attend to the needs of its beleaguered residents.

“Even if she is not an ally of the President, no matter what color that is, the President is ready to help anyone as long as the government’s help is needed,” she said.

Castro noted that during his recent visit to Cebu, Marcos was personally welcomed by Baricuatro who thanked him for the immediate assistance the President provided to the province.

She added there are 55 ongoing flood control projects in the province.

Meanwhile, Castro said concerned agencies have given immediate assistance and care to those affected by Typhoon Tino.

“All agencies under the administration of President Marcos Jr. responded quickly to ensure the safety and security of residents hit by Typhoon Tino,” she said.

She cited the Department of Health which immediately distributed medicines and clean drinking water, hygiene kits and water containers among affected areas in Cebu, Aklan and Eastern Visayas.

“The agency is also on standby to address the medical needs of residents in the affected regions of the country. The DOH is also monitoring the risk of lahar from Kanlaon Volcano due to the continuous rains brought by Typhoon Tino,’” Castro added.

Castro said the Department of Social Welfare and Development, for its part, also distributed family food packs and ready-to-eat food items to affected residents.

“According to the DSWD report, they distributed 121,988 family food packs and 1,628 ready-to-eat food items to affected residents in Calabarzon, Bicol, Western Visayas, Negros Island, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Caraga,” she said.

“The DSWD also distributed aid in NCR and Zamboanga, including financial assistance to the families of orphaned victims of Typhoon Tino. Among those provided with aid and hot meals by the agency were stranded passengers, drivers and operators at ports and terminals in the affected regions,” Castro added.

Invest in science

In an interview with “Storycon” on One News, UP Resilience Institute executive director Mahar Lagmay said infrastructure projects such as dikes and revetments should be the last option when implementing flood control solutions.

“What happens is that we automatically think of dikes when we say flood control. It shouldn’t be that way,” Lagmay said in Filipino.

“We should first invest in science. We should exhaust all sustainable solutions first, explore everything we can invest in and spend money on, before we decide to invest in dikes,” he added.

Lagmay said there are a lot of nature-based solutions that can help address flooding, such as reforestation, watershed management, rainwater catchment facilities and retention basins, among others.

“We should be more intelligent and make better use of science so that our investments yield results and don’t go to waste,” he added.

He also pushed for a “watershed approach,” which takes into account entire watersheds instead of projects that are limited to local government jurisdictions.

“It can’t be done by just one local government unit. A holistic approach is better, one that looks into nature-based solutions,” Lagmay said.

Disaster resilience experts from Harvard University and UP, meanwhile, have urged legislators to take a scientific and evidence-based approach to “restore integrity” in flood management in the Philippines.

Vincenzo Bollettino, director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative’s Program on Resilient Communities, and Pamela Gloria Cajilig, a professorial lecturer at the UP College of Architecture and a senior fellow at the University of Oxford’s Atlantic Institute of the Rhodes Trust, submitted a policy note to several legislators to help address corruption in flood control program.

“In contrast to flood control projects rationalized by political payoffs, we believe that research and evidence should be used to combat corruption and ensure the effectiveness of flood risk management projects in the Philippines,” the policy note read.

The two researchers recommended three actionable policies to address issues related to flood control: independent evaluation and oversight, creation of an integrated floor risk management and institutionalization of evidence-based solutions.

Bollettino and Cajilig stressed the need for independent evaluations and not just internal audits of all major disaster resilience projects in the country. – Janvic Mateo