Legarda Urges Immediate and Effective Implementation of Flood Control Projects

SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA TODAY URGED THE GOVERNMENT, PARTICULARLY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS (DPWH) AND THE METRO MANILA DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (MMDA), TO IMMEDIATELY AND EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENT ITS FLOOD CONTROL MANAGEMENT PROJECTS.
Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, stressed that “flooding has been the perennial problem in the Philippines, and with the growth of our cities, the problem is only becoming worse.”
The Senator said that it is important to speed up flood control projects especially that the rainy season has started. She noted the DPWH’s drainage protection works along national roads and bridges, relocation of informal settlers living along riverbanks and esteros, and drainage improvement and watershed projects in selected locations; as well as the MMDA’s estero clean-up drive to allow floodwater to subside easily.
“We have to always ensure that esteros, waterways, and drainages are not clogged with waste materials. Moreover, we must educate Filipinos on the importance of waste segregation and provide effective waste disposal methods because government agencies won’t be able to shoulder all the responsibility,” said Legarda, author of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
Legarda, for her part, has been calling for the increase of budgets for flood control and water resource management.
“If the government and the people work together to make our laws and policies work, we can prevent flooding from occurring and our time and resources for flood control will not be put to waste,” Legarda concluded.