The Marcos administration has already completed some 4,700 flood control projects from July 2022 to 2024, with 4,000 others currently being implemented, Palace press briefer Daphne Oseña-Paez said on Tuesday, May 7.
During a Palace press briefing after a sectoral meeting with President Marcos, Oseña-Paez disclosed that the government has been preparing for flood control since the Chief Executive took office.
“Maraming completed projects ang Marcos administration (The Marcos administration has completed many projects) from July 2022 to 2024, mga (around) 4,700 flood control projects have been completed,” she said.
Marcos assumed office since June 2022.
“There [are] 4,200 ongoing projects including big-ticket projects and then of course some proposed ones are in the line,” she added.
The sectoral meeting centered on discussions with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other concerned government agencies about investment opportunities in the water sector.
There, the President expressed his concern about the flood control and management projects, and suggested that these projects be integrated into water conservation efforts.
National Irrigation Administration (NIA) head Eduardo Guillen said that the agency already finished constructing three dams, which they have started building before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“So, actually, mabilis lang naman iyon. ‘Yung mga nasa 100 meters na dam kaya nating tapusin iyan ng three years lamang. And of course mayroon din tayong mga 30 meters na dam mga one year to two years lamang po iyan (that’s just fast. The 100 meters dam can be completed in just three years. And of course we have 30 meters dam that takes only one to two years),” he explained.
This month, NIA will be turning over projects in Bohol and Quezon, as well as the Jalaur Dam in Iloilo, Guillen added.
He furthered that there are a lot of projects in Ilocos, too.
Earlier, the DENR-Water Resources. Management Office (DENR-WRMO), NIA, and other government agencies identified 247 potential water projects with an aim to repurpose excess irrigation water for other uses.
These projects were offered for public private partnerships (PPPs) and presented to local and international stakeholders in the Water Investment Forum held last February.
Currently, the government has already received more than 90 letters of interest from local government units and six major water companies.