Solving the flood problems that are expected to be intensified by the upcoming La Niña phenomenon would require reforestation efforts and the desilting and dredging of major riverbeds, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan said on Tuesday, May 7.
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. presides over a sectoral meeting on Natural Resources Development Transparency Strategy in Malacañang on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Marianne Bermudez/PPA Pool)
In a Palace press briefing after a sectoral meeting with President Marcos, the official disclosed that a memorandum of agreement would be entered into by the DPWH and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to integrate flood control in both infrastructure and environment management.
“Sabi nga ni Presidente, kailangan natin mag-reforestation (The President said we need reforestation),” he said, adding that waterways, particularly rivers, get filled with silt and debris from soil erosion of mountainsides.
“So, kailangan din natin (we also need that) in coordination with the DENR. We will be entering into a memorandum of agreement so that we can actually implement iyong (the) water management through reforestation,” he added.
But since Bonoan admitted that such approach is a “long-term process,” he said that flooding in some areas can’t be helped at “this point in time.”
According to the DPWH chief, the agency’s flood control infrastructure program “is just one of the components to address flooding problems” because there is also a need to desilt the rivers.
“In the event of any rainfall na medyo intense, siyempre umaapaw na kaagad ‘yan (that’s slightly intense, it fills up easily) because the riverbeds are very shallow now,” he explained.
“One of the programs of the department is to undertake iyong (the) desilting and dredging of iyong mga (the) major rivers and tributaries actually para magkaroon ng increased carrying capacity of the rivers (so the rivers can have increased carrying capacity),” the official added.
During the sectoral meeting, Bonoan said that he presented to Marcos the department’s flood management program, as well as all the local and foreign-assisted projects currently being implemented.