Revilla: "Hindi sapat na mabilis humupa ang baha dahil hindi naman talaga dapat bumabaha; national flood master plan, nasaan na?"
August 1, 2024
REVILLA: "HINDI SAPAT NA MABILIS HUMUPA ANG BAHA DAHIL HINDI NAMAN TALAGA DAPAT BUMABAHA; NATIONAL FLOOD MASTER PLAN, NASAAN NA?"
"Totoo man na mas mabilis ang paghupa ng baha ngayon, hindi pa rin tama na dito mapunta ang usapan! Kasi hindi na dapat pinag-uusapan yung paghupa, ang pinag-uusapan dapat ay yung hindi na magbabaha. Hindi sapat na mabilis humupa ang baha dahil hindi naman talaga dapat bumabaha."
This is the strong remark made by Senator Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. during the public hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Works on Thursday (August 1) pertinent to the recent massive flooding in Luzon last week.
Revilla, the chairperson of the committee, called for a legislative hearing immediately after the onslaught of Super Typhoon Carina to exact answers from relevant agencies on the status of government flood management projects.
"In our last hearing tungkol din sa flooding one year ago, August 2023, the DPWH and the MMDA made commitments and asked for time to implement these commitments. As early as the start of the year, lagi nating pinapaalalahanan ang mga ahensya na isaayos ang mga imprastruktura at drainage para sa paparating na tag-ulan at La Niña. Ngayon, heto na naman tayo. Same problem. Nandito na naman tayo para pag-usapan itong pagbabaha at kung anong aksyon ng gobyerno," the solon said in frustration.
During the inquiry, the veteran lawmaker presented footages of the typhoon's impact in several regions of the Luzon that were severely afflicted by the massive flooding
"Last Sunday, nag-conduct po tayo ng on-site at aerial inspection sa Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Bulacan, Pampanga. At kahapon lamang, sa Rizal. Sa Metro Manila, may ilang bahagi na lagpas tao ang naging baha. Umabot pa nga sa bubong ng mga bahay. Sa ilang parte naman ng Central Luzon, lubog din sa baha ang mga bahay at hanapbuhay. May mga lugar, baha pa rin hanggang sa ngayon. Sa CALABARZON, nag-trending din ang naging bilis na pagtaas ng tubig kung saan hindi na nadaanan ang mga kalsada," said Revilla who detailed the impact of the said flood.
It was also revealed during the discussion that despite the repeated calls of Revilla and other lawmakers in previous years, there is still no integrated national master plan for flood management. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) admitted that each of 18 major river basins in the country has an individual master plan that is still being updated. Several lawmakers including Revilla said that it is unacceptable since piecemeal, unintegrated flood mitigation projects do not effectively address flooding.
"Without an integrated national master plan para tugunan ang baha, patuloy na magiging pache-pache ang ginagawa natin mga proyekto para tugunan ang baha. Kahit pa matapos ang mga proyektong ito, kung hindi magiging holistic ang approach, maipapasa lang natin sa ibang lugar ang baha," Revilla explained.
"Without a whole-of-nation approach and a unified master plan of the country, we are bound for doom! Without it, all our efforts will be wasted. Isang patunay diyan yung kahit ang daming proyekto ay paulit-ulit pa rin ang baha," he further stressed.
It was bared during the hearing that the 5,500 flood control projects undertaken by the DPWH are all minor projects and are being implemented spreadly in different areas.
"We think that since there is no integrated national master plan, the projects being mentioned by DPWH are being implemented sparsely. Sa Filipino, pache-pache. Kaya siguro nandiyan pa rin ang baha. That is why I eagerly call on them to already make the master plan. Kayo na rin ang nagsabi, sa meeting kasama si Pangulong Bongbong Marcos, ang specific instruction niya ay dapat holistic at in integrated manner ang pagresolba natin sa problema sa baha. With that being said, the only way to do that is to have a master plan," Revilla said.
"Kaya, kailangan nang mabuo at maipatupad yang master plan na iyan. At in the interim, habang wala pa, dapat may mga contingencies kayo para hindi na babaha ulit tuwing uulan," he ended.
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