2 days ago
Bonoan: 'No significant coordination' yet with DENR agency on flood control plan
Secretary Manuel Bonoan said on Tuesday that there is currently "no significant coordination" between the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the River Basin Control Office (RBCO) in relation to the development of a master plan for flood control projects.
The DPWH has had "no significant coordination at this point in time" with the RCBO, an attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), to develop a master plan to address flooding, said Bonoan, who was speaking at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the alleged anomalous flood control projects.
Bonoan's predecessor, Senator Mark Villar, emphasized the importance of master plans and funding for their implementation.
'Base sa karanasan ko bilang Secretary ng Public Works, napaka-importante po ang master planning sa flood control kasi pwede mong ayusin ang isang section at bibilis ang daloy ng tubig. Pero pagdating sa ibang section na walang flood control, maiipon ang tubig at mas lalala ang baha sa ibang areas,' Villar said.
(Based on my experience as DPWH secretary, master planning is very important in flood control because through it, you can fix an affected section and the flow of water will ease. But the water will accumulate and the flood will worsen in other areas that have no flood control.)
'So napaka-importante na magkaroon tayo at suportahan natin ang mga master plan ng flood control projects. And there are master plans. I'm aware; may mga master plan talaga sa DPWH. Some of them are foreign-funded master plans, and some of them are each water basin na may master plan,' he added.
(So it is very important that we come together and support the master plan for flood control projects. And there are master plans. I'm aware there are master plans in the DPWH. Some of them are foreign-funded master plans, and some of them are master plans of each water basin.)
Villar, who served as DPWH chief during the Duterte administration, also called for more accountability measures to prevent substandard flood control projects.
'Nung nagkaron ng inspection si President Marcos, may nakita siyang mga substandard. 'Yun ang kailangan natin solusyonan sa lalong madaling panahon dahil that is very unacceptable that we have substandard projects,' he said.
(When President Marcos did an inspection, he found substandard projects. That is what we need to solve as soon as possible because it is very unacceptable that we have substandard projects.)
Between July 2022 and May 2025, the DPWH recorded 9,855 completed flood control projects, according to Bonoan. He said 3,709 projects worth P183 billion began construction as early as 2020 and 2021.
Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairman Rodante Marcoleta also noted during the hearing that based on the report submitted by the Senate Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office, the actual budget for flood control projects between July 2022 and May 2025 was P849 billion.
'We recognize the concern raised by the President…last Monday that while thousands of projects are reflected as completed, our citizens continue to experience recurring flooding. This is not a contradiction but a call for deeper accountability,' he added.
President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. earlier disclosed that 20% of the P545-billion budget for flood control projects was awarded to only 15 contractors.
In his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) last month, the President vowed that those involved in anomalous flood control projects would be held accountable. –VBL, GMA Integrated News
