Climate-resilient infrastructure

For those of us living in Mega Manila, we have been fortunate that in the past seven months we have been spared by at least two powerful typhoons that has instead wreaked havoc and caused major flooding in China.

The current El Niño weather pattern has also played a part in keeping Mega Manila relatively dry so far this year.

I myself experienced the devastating effect of Typhoon Ondoy in 2009 and once again by Typhoon Carina that was aggravated by the southwest monsoon or habagat.

Ondoy was the first time I experienced having my house flooded up to the ground floor, something I thought would never happen since the area where I live had never been flooded in the decades that we have been there. Thankfully, the flooding only reached the ground floor, but our car was also affected.

That event traumatized me and since then, I have become fearful whenever there is a big storm headed toward Luzon.

Unfortunately, Typhoon Carina in 2025, which was not predicted to be as strong as Ondoy, unluckily was aggravated by the southwest monsoon, bringing more rain that resulted in another unexpected flooding that matched the level of flooding caused by Ondoy.

However, that time around, the flooding caused by Carina, it turned out, was a failure of flawed flood control projects that eventually revealed the massive corruption in the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The current government is now more serious about working with other countries that have planned ahead and have built climate-resilient infrastructure.

In fact, in a recent Stormwater Summit, Singapore’s National Water Agency — PUB — shared how they manage all aspects of water. The water agency’s mandate is to supply water, reclaim used water, tame stormwater and resist rising seas.

Ryan Yuen, managing director of PUB Consultants Pte. Ltd., talked about their own strategy in managing their water resources, not so much because they are prone to typhoons like our country, but more because they have limited water resources as an island nation, and are dependent on their neighbor Malaysia for most of their freshwater needs, and on rainfall which they have to efficiently collect, store and allocate.

In his presentation, Mr. Yuen explained that because Singapore is low-lying, it is vulnerable to flooding, and since it is an island state, it is affected by conditions in the Andaman Sea and the Malacca Strait, as well as by the South China Sea.

Because of its small land size of just 730 kilometers and a high population density that requires a constant and reliable source of freshwater, the island nation has to make every drop of water counts, and has thus built up an extensive water catchment network of about 6,000 kilometers of drains, canals and river that is collected and stored in 17 reservoirs.

However, Singapore has low-lying areas that are prone to flooding from intense rainfall and by the sea level and storm surges. Because the island nation is well developed, there is increased surface runoff.

In the past, Singapore experienced widespread flooding. Fortunately, it has addressed its flooding problems through drainage system improvements so that less than 30 hectares of the country now experience flooding.

For his part, DPWH Undersecretary Charles Calima cited the stormwater catchment design of Bonifacio Global City, as well as other projects in the provinces that now focus on catching the rainwater and storing them in some containment areas.

Unfortunately, Usec. Calima was not able to elaborate more extensively on other plans and specific projects of the DPWH, but he assured that President Marcos has ordered the agency to ensure that flood control projects should work to the benefit of those who are most affected — those living in these flood-prone areas. The President, he said, emphasized that “there should be no ghost or substandard projects.”

He also cited the Oplan Kontra Baha program that aims to mitigate severe, heavy flooding in low lying areas, in partnership with local government units and the private sector.

He called for a stronger collaboration with LGUs, civil society and the private sector, arguing that “this is not a problem of one agency alone. The intervention is not another structure, the intervention is coordination.”

Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, presidential adviser for sustainable and resilient communities, delivered the opening remarks, emphasizing the importance of strengthening preparedness to mitigate potential problems.

She noted that “in our region, communities are confronting risks of increasing scale and complexity – extreme weather, rapid urbanization and environmental pressures are placing greater demands on the systems that support everyday life. Their effect extends far beyond demands, damage to infrastructure, for they disrupt livelihoods, interrupt economic activity and place pressure on essential services as well, affecting the daily lives of millions of Filipinos, that is why protecting communities is not only about responding after destruction, it’s about reducing risks before it becomes a crisis, strengthening preparedness and creating conditions for sustainable development to endure despite increasingly complex challenges.”

While I have seen extensive work being done, and some already completed along Araneta Boulevard in Quezon City, it remains to be seen if the said projects and those still being completed, have been built to the required specifications.

Likewise, it also remains to be seen if the massive garbage problem that aggravates the floods during heavy downpours has likewise been addressed.

In the past seven months, the weather has been mostly hot and dry. While there has been some strong rains recently, it has been intermittent and has resulted in brief flash floods. Thus, the true test, despite Usec. Calima’s positive presentation still has to be proven.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed.