Where is the much-vaunted flood-control projects of the government to ease flooding in low-lying areas, in the face of waist-deep water and impassable streets from recent torrential rains?
This question is being raised by Sen. Francis G. Escudero, as follow up on the government’s project to ease flooding, directed at 4,750 hectares of flood-prone areas.
Escudero said the Senate Committee on Finance, which he chairs, will conduct a mid-year review of the status of flood-control projects implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) within the nation’s capital region.
Escudero made the statement after torrential rains brought Metro Manila to its knees, submerging some areas in waist-deep waters and making streets impassable to vehicles. He wants to find out from the MMDA whether it will be able to fulfill its promise to reduce the number of flood-prone areas in the metropolis by 10 percent this year.
“The MMDA has promised that it will work for a 10-percent reduction of flooded areas, or from 4,570 to four, 105 hectares for a rainfall intensity of less than 40 millimeters per hour, and that floodwaters in areas under its jurisdiction will subside 40 minutes to one hour after a downpour, measuring less than 40 millimeters per hour,” Escudero said, noting that the scope of the flood-prone areas is twice the size of the city of Manila.
These “performance guarantees” are attached to the P2.19-billion subsidy the MMDA will receive from the national government, he said.
He added that on top of the subsidy, the MMDA relies on membership contributions from local governments and income from fees, such as those paid by traffic law violators to fund its operations.
However, Escudero noted that the P276 million the agency has allocated this year for flood-control and sewerage-management services in a metropolis 63,600 hectares big and with an estimated daytime population of 15 million, is clearly not enough.
He said he believes that, as far as flood control is concerned, both the MMDA and the national government should be involved.
Hence, the focus of the review will be on the status of flood-control projects being done by the DPWH in Metro Manila.
On a national scale, the DPWH has a budget of P42.2 billion for flood-management services this year, a bulk of which will be spent in Metro Manila.
Among the items in the DPWH’s flood-control budget for 2015 are DPWH-North Manila Engineering District’s allocation of P1.26 billion; P680 million for its Las Piñas-Muntinlupa District Engineering Office; P1.37 billion for its two engineering districts in Quezon City; P460 million for its Malabon-Navotas district office; and P1.6 billion for its National Capital Region’s (NCR) First District Office.
These, he said, are on top of allocations booked under the central office of the DPWH and its regional office for NCR. He wants to know how many percent of the 1,295 projects nationwide have been started this year.
The DPWH’s performance targets for 2015 is 100-percent completion within contract time.