“WE ARE very optimistic
that this will redound to improving people’s lives by enhancing the disaster
resilience of all our communities.”
Thus, spoke President
Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. buoying up the hopes for drier times of the people in
the low-lying towns of Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin, and Sto. Tomas in Pampanga as
he led the inauguration of the P7.57-billion flood mitigation project on Aug. 7,
2024.
Located in Masantol, the
Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Project –
Stage I (IDRR-CCA 1) was implemented by the Department of Public Works and
Highways and funded by the Export-Import Bank of Korea-Economic Development
Cooperation Fund.
Aimed to increase and
improve the capacity of the Third River, Eastern Branch River, Caduang Tete
River, and Sapang Maragul River – all tributaries of the Pampanga River, the
project covers excavation, dredging, and widening of river channels, as well as
the construction of embankments to enhance flood control.
In addition, the project
involves the construction of three new bridges, five footbridges, eight sluice
gate structures, and 164 fish pond gates.
Unveiling the IDRR-CCA
1 (L-R) Masantol Mayor Ton-ton Bustos, DPWH
Secretary Manuel Bonoan, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, PBBM, Republic of
Korea Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Sang-hwa, Pampanga 4th
District Rep. Anna York Bondoc, and Vice Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda. PCO photo
“Once it is fully
completed, the IDRR-CCA will reduce the flood level and flood duration from 66
days to 17 days in the municipalities of Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin, and Sto.
Tomas,” enthused Marcos Jr., as he assured the Masantol residents in attendance
that the DPWH “will expeditiously complete the ongoing flood control projects
here in Region 3.”
Then-DPWH Secretary Manuel
Bonoan chipped in: “Today is a significant milestone in our efforts to reduce
the impacts of natural disasters.”
Not to be outdone, Pampanga
4th District Rep. Anna York Bondoc: “We are deeply honored by your
presence today at the inauguration of the first-ever climate change loan of the
Philippines.”
That was on Aug. 7,
2024.
Two years and five days
after – Aug. 12, 2026 – the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Pampanga officially
declared the whole province under a state of calamity amid prolonged
and torrential rainfall that caused extensive flooding in several high-risk
municipalities and barangays, displaced thousands of residents, disrupted
livelihoods, and damaged agricultural areas and community infrastructure.
The Provincial Disaster
Risk Reduction and Management Office Situational Report, as of 12 noon, Aug. 12:
a total of 269,775 families, or 860,076 individuals, have been affected; 297
flooded barangays across 17 local government units; 7,731 individuals displaced
and evacuated from affected communities.
Damage to the agriculture
sector exceeded P505 million, affecting approximately 3,787 farmers and
fisherfolk.
Food packs provided by the
Department of Social Welfare and Development were distributed to over 25,000
families in the 4th District alone – Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin,
and Sto. Tomas, foremost.
The rains continued, even
harder in places, for days. By Aug. 20, the PDRRMO reported P748.8 million in
agricultural and fisheries damage, P3.1 million in livestock damage, and P11.9
million in egg-drop losses. A total of 7,754 farmers and fisherfolk affected.
On Aug. 21, flooding remained
in 19 towns and cities, affecting 307,879 families or 982,100 individuals. Of
Pampanga’s 505 barangays, 276 were under water.
The breadth and depth of
flooding in Pampanga – the worst in decades, if not ever, swear old-timers –
dashed the hopes Marcos Jr. so elevated among the Kapampangans at the
inauguration of that P7.57-billion IDRR-CCA 1 flood control in Masantol on Aug.
7, 2024. It has veritably turned into a white elephant, costly at that,
seemingly as worthless as the phantom flood control projects still unresolved
to this day.
Nanay’s call
“Ang palagay ko, stop muna
yung mga flood control. Kasi naalala ko, 10 years… Hindi naman kinukumpleto
yung gawa. So, walang solusyon eh. Ganun pa rin.”
Backdropped by the
submerged Sunken Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Bacolor town, Gov. Lilia “Nanay”
Pineda could not have given her take of the current deluge a greater impact to
the viewers of the Bilyonaryo News Channel newscast, Agenda.
Even as she pushed for the
immediate dredging of the Pampanga River and its tributaries as a short-term
solution, the governor called on the DPWH for a comprehensive review of
long-standing flood control strategies, focusing on the effectiveness of
traditional dikes and protective structures used over the years.
Meanwhile, the DSWD and
the Capitol continue to brave floodwaters in their relief operations across Pampanga.
Life, hard as it is, goes
on. But for how long?
.jfif)
