Bulacan Governor Daniel R. Fernando believes that the construction of the Bataan, Cavite Mega Dikes will be the permanent solution to the province's perennial flooding problem. In an interview with DZRH on Tuesday, Fernando shared that several permanent flooding solutions were discussed during the technical working group meeting of the House Committee on Public Works and Highways at the Batasan Hills, Quezon City on Monday, July 31. Fernando said that aside from the Mega Dike that will block the water during high tide that rises every year, they also recommended to PPP (Public-Private Partnership) the coastal road flood control toll gate. The massive dredging of rivers is needed as these are already heavily silted, he added. Governor Daniel R. Fernando and Vice Gov. Alexis C. Castro during the Technical Working Group meeting of the House Committee on Public Works and Highways for drafting the necessary law to solve the flooding in the province of Bulacan they attended at the House of Representatives in Batasan Hills, Quezon City on Monday, July 31, 2023. (Photo from the official Facebook page of Vice Gov. Alex Castro/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Fernando said he already asked for support from San Miguel Corporation's President and CEO Ramon S. Ang for the massive dredging of rivers in the province as well as the Mega Dike project.  The province of Bulacan had been placed under a state of calamity after it experienced massive flooding due to heavy rains brought by the southwest monsoon enhanced by Typhoons "Egay" and "Falcon." Fernando said Egay and Falcon left a swath of destruction in several parts of Bulacan submerging villages in the province’s 20 towns and two cities, affecting 170,000 families or around 850,000 individuals.  Fernando said the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) is still determining the total number of families and individuals affected by floodwaters from the final report of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO). He also said that aside from heavy rains brought by the southwest monsoon,  flooding in Bulacan was also worsened by high tide and the release of water from Bustos Dam as well as floodwater from Pampanga and Nueva Ecija that inundated the towns of Calumpit and Hagonoy. On Monday, July 31, PDRRMO said 4,784 families, or 18,392 individuals, are temporarily sheltered in 163 evacuation centers provincewide. Four casualties were reported during the onslaught of Typhoon Egay. The drowned victims were identified as John Mark Arcega, 20, of Sta. Lucia, Calumpit, and a 14-year-old boy from Maligaya, San Miguel. The two other fatalities were from Panginay, Balagtas, identified as Virgilio Santos, 69, who died when he accidentally slipped and fatally injured his head, and Policarpio Gatchalian, 70, who died after having a heart attack while about to be brought to an evacuation center during a rescue operation. The PDRRMO also reported that 3,686 hectares of rice lands and 156 vegetable plantations were submerged in floodwater, while 417 hectares of fish ponds overflowed with milkfish and prawns being carried out by the flood. Heads of the PSWDO and the Bulacan Medical Center-Provincial Public Health Office are now conducting relief operations province-wide and distributing other basic necessities like blankets, bottled water, mats, and medicines and vaccines, among others.