Marcos: PH executing decades-old flood control master plan

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said that the country has had a flood control master plan "for decades," but it is only now that it is being implemented. Marcos answered in the affirmative when asked if he was expecting a flood control master plan. "We already have a masterplan. It’s just never been executed. We are only executing it now. We have had a masterplan for decades, but walang ginawa. Hanggang ngayon lang. Ngayon lang natin sinisimulan," Marcos said. (We already have a master plan; it’s just never been executed. We’re only executing it now. We’ve had a master plan for decades. But nothing has been done until now; we’re just starting now.) Marcos said this after inspecting the damaged Agana and Aquino bridges in Tarlac. The bridges collapsed amid flooding and heavy rain caused by the Southwest Monsoon or Habagat. Malacañang recently announced the plan to build five dams in Nueva Ecija and a 100-kilometer dike extending toward Pilar, Bataan, as part of the government’s long-term solutions to recurring flooding in Central Luzon. The proposed projects were discussed during a situation briefing in Pampanga last week following widespread flooding in the region. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the government is looking at immediate, medium-term and long-term measures to reduce the impact of flooding in Central Luzon. Immediate measures include the repair of damaged infrastructure, as well as declogging, desilting, and dredging operations. The government will also continue monitoring these interventions to determine whether they remain effective and durable, Castro said. At a budget hearing on the Department of Public Works and Highways' proposed budget of more than P643 billion for 2027, Secretary Vince Dizon said there was no national plan for flood control and drainage. What the country has, according to Dizon, are flood control plans for all 18 of the country's major river basins. He said this was the recommendation of the DPWH's foreign partners. –NB, GMA News