As the country absorbs the impact of a third typhoon this month, senators are seeking hearings on the perennial problem of flooding and plan to summon officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and other concerned agencies.
Calls for hearings came as the Department of Agriculture said that the agricultural and fisheries sector in Northern Luzon suffered losses of P3.17 billion from the damage wrought by Typhoon “Egay,” affecting 146,260 farmers and fishers, and 170,843 hectares of agricultural areas, with a total production loss of 106,453 metric tons.
The affected commodities include rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock and poultry, and fisheries. Damage was also incurred in agricultural and fishery infrastructure and facilities.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Majority Floor Leader Senator Joel Villanueva, and Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda raised different long-standing issues with the country’s flood control system.
Senator Bong Revilla, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Works and Highways, vowed to conduct hearings on the massive flooding in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.
Despite the billions of pesos the government has been spending on flood control programs, widespread flooding still occurs with every downpour, he said.
Revilla said he would summon DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairperson Romando Artes and question them about the effectiveness of their flood control programs.
In a TV report, officials of Bulacan said most of the province would continue to be flooded for the next few days as the waters from nearby provinces were still running down toward their lower-lying areas before reaching their rivers, plus the effect of the high tide in general.
Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando previously said he was talking to his neighboring provincial leaders to push through with mega-dike projects that would be funded by the private sector.
Also, Sta. Fe village in San Marcelino, Zambales continued to be cut off from the rest of the town for the fourth straight day after the swollen Santo Tomas River broke the dike protecting it.
Cayetano flagged the unfinished flood control dams of the DPWH.
He said it has been 12 years since the unfinished flood control dams were revealed in a Senate hearing, but apparently – with the continuous flooding in Bulacan and surrounding areas – nothing has been done to fully address it.
“It was discovered during the hearing that there were still unfinished flood control projects of the government. And this was more than 10 years ago and after that, I thought everything was fixed,” he said.
Cayetano said he will scrutinize the DPWH’s proposed budget for 2024 to make sure its budget – the second highest among all government agencies – is allocated to the right infrastructure projects.
He said to be able to mitigate flooding effectively, the DPWH must take a more comprehensive approach, pointing out that 25 percent of the department’s budget this year was put into flood control instead of being used for the building of new roads.
Calling the Senate’s attention to the perennial flooding in his home province of Bulacan, Villanueva urged fellow senators to inquire about the plans and programs of the government regarding the country’s urban drainage system and flood protection for Metro Manila and other vulnerable areas.
Legarda, a known advocate of environment protection and climate change awareness, said the National Power Corporation must update its protocols for the release of water from dams during typhoons, taking into consideration the best water route using the land-use plans of areas where Angat, Bustos, and Ipo Dams are located.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the reported death toll due to Egay and the southwest monsoon rose to 27 as of Wednesday.
Thirteen people were also reportedly missing, while 52 were injured.
Over 2.8 million people, or 765,000 families were affected by the persistent rain and flooding in 4,646 barangays nationwide.
Of these, 289,713 individuals were displaced and were transferred to 677 evacuation centers.
The NDRRMC said that 50,371 houses were damaged, of which 1,876 were destroyed.
The estimated cost of damage to 495 infrastructure stood at P3.53 billion, while the agricultural sector suffered losses of P1.98 billion.
Damage to livestock, poultry, and fisheries also reached P173.81 million.
There were 154 areas in the Ilocos Region, the Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and the Cordillera Administrative Region under a state of calamity due to the effects of Egay and the southwest monsoon.
The NDRRMC said some 595 areas were still flooded as of Wednesday.
Thirty-two rain-induced landslide incidents and one maritime incident were also recorded.
Some 68 roads and four bridges were not passable.
At least P187.4 million worth of assistance was already provided to the affected regions, the NDRRMC added.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the damage caused by Egay will not have a significant impact on the rate of inflation.
“I do think that the impact on the overall national economy is not that serious at this point,” Balisacan said in a television interview.
“The data that we have so far are not that big yet. But the events are still unfolding so the data is still incomplete. But we do hope that the impact, especially in agriculture, is not as bad as compared to other episodes of monsoon rains in the past,” he added.
Also on Wednesday, Department Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Jose
Rizalino Acuzar ordered the release of cash assistance for families who lost their homes due to Egay.
The DHSUD central office is making available P23 million for emergency assistance to residents whose houses were destroyed.
“We must focus our efforts now on assisting families who lost their homes. Let’s expedite the delivery due to its urgency,” Acuzar said.