Malacañang said it remains open to the flood control master plan developed during the administration of the late former President Benigno Aquino III, despite the plan not being endorsed by the Duterte administration.

While the current administration said it is not closing its doors to the masterplan, it will have to review it, Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said.

"Hindi po sinasara ng administrasyon ang patungkol sa masterplan, pero still dapat lahat itong aralin kung ano ang mas makakabuti sa ating bansa, kung paano mas matutugunan ang problema sa pagbaha, lalong-lalo na kung talagang napakalakas ng buhos ng ulan (The administration is not closing the door on the master plan, but everything still needs to be studied to determine what would be best for our country and how we can better address the problem of flooding, especially when there is extremely heavy rainfall)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Thursday, Aug. 27.

"So, lahat ng plano na puwedeng gamitin para matugunan ang problema sa pagbaha ay puwede namang gamiting sabay-sabay. Gawing sabay-sabay ng hindi naman magkakaroon ng problema (So, all plans that can help address the flooding problem can be implemented simultaneously, as long as doing so does not create any problems)," she added.

The Palace official also reiterated that the masterplan, which was reportedly left to the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte but was allegedly not implemented, was not endorsed to the Marcos administration.

"Ang kopya ang naiwan diumano sa panahon ni dating Pangulong Duterte. Pero, sa huli kong pakikipag-usap pa kay Secretary (Manuel) Bonoan noon, ang sabi po niya, noong tinanong po natin itong masterplan na ito ay wala daw po silang natanggap (The copy was allegedly left during the time of former president Duterte. But in my last conversation with Secretary Bonoan at the time, when we asked about this master plan, he said they had not received a copy of it)," Castro said.

"So, ngayon, ang pinapairal po ng DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) inaaral muna ang—kumbaga aayusin po ang flood control, per major river basin plan at iyon ang nakikita nila sa ngayon na ugma or tugma sa pinaka-lokasyon ng ating bansa (So, for now, the DPWH is studying the approach they are implementing—essentially, they are organizing the flood control efforts according to each major river basin plan. That is what they currently see as appropriate or suited to the geography of our country)," Castro added.

While Castro distanced Malacañang from the Ombudsman's statement labeling Davao City as the epicenter of flood-control corruption, saying the Executive branch will not meddle with the Ombudsman, as it is an independent body.

Castro, however, stressed that if there are indeed documents proving that flood control projects were completed in the city, Congressman Paolo Duterte should have submitted them to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

"So, itong mga dokumentong sinasabi niya ay malaking tulong para malaman natin kung ang mga flood control projects na naisagawa sa Davao city ay hindi sa dokumento lang, kung hindi talaga nag-e-exist. Iba po kasi iyong dokumento lang at iba naman po iyong talagang totoong nakikita, nararamdaman at nakakatulong sa problema ng baha (These documents he is referring to are a big help in determining whether the flood control projects reportedly implemented in Davao City exist only on paper or actually exist. There is a difference between having documents and having projects that can actually be seen, felt, and that genuinely help address the problem of flooding)," Castro said.

"So, lahat naman po ng lugar sa Pilipinas na binabaha ay tinutugunan ng ating pamahalaan at iyan po ang utos ng Pangulong Marcos Jr. Kaya nga po noong sumobra ang baha sa Davao city, hindi naman po nagpatumpik-tumpik ang Pangulo at si Secretary Vince Dizon, na tulungan na ang Davao city dahil malubha na rin po ang pagbaha sa Davao (The government is addressing flooding in all affected areas across the Philippines, and that is the directive of President Marcos Jr. That is why, when the flooding in Davao City became severe, the President and Secretary Vince Dizon did not hesitate to act and provide assistance to Davao City, as the flooding there had already become serious)," Castro added.