Lanao del Sur to get flood control project through foreign funding

LANAO DEL SUR, Philippines — Eight barangays in Malabang town stand to benefit from a flood control project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Asian Development Bank.

The P3.5-billion project is a downstream viaduct where floodwaters that accumulate in oft-flooded barangays can flow through and drain into the sea off Malabang.

Malabang town is located in the second district of Lanao del Sur, a component province of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Malabang Mayor Tomas Macapodi said Thursday that barangay officials have assured help to secure the project to ensure its completion.

Experts from the ADB earlier visited Malabang for an inspection of the areas the project will pass through.

The project shall protect stretches of the Secretary Narciso Ramos Highway in Malabang from floods that cause traffic and affect commerce in the town.

"There are houses in these flood-prone barangays already buried in silt overtime due to recurring floods," Macapodi said Thursday.