President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to implement the updated Bicol River Basin Master Plan to address the perennial flooding in the Bicol Region.
“I already instructed the Public Works to come up with a master plan which is appropriate for now. There is no other way to address the flooding problem except to manage the water flowing into the Bicol Region River Basin,” President Marcos said during the Regional Development Council meeting in Pili, Camarines Sur, on Friday.
“At least we have a plan now. We have to implement it properly because the old master plan was not rigorously implemented so we have the same problem,” he said.
The President stressed that the country needs to adjust because the weather will become more severe with climate change, and the old master plan is no longer suitable for addressing emerging crises.
He said the plan should be made available to all stakeholders to enable them to understand how it is supposed to work, particularly agencies that are supposed to implement it, and the role of local and national government.
Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan said the agency updated the master plan for the Bicol Region River Basin under the Philippine-Korea Project Facilitation Program.
“We have completed the updating of the master plan to include also the basic parameters taking into account the climate change,” Bonoan told the President.
During President Marcos’ visit to Camarines Sur in November last year, he directed various agencies and local government units to work together on the integrated and future-proof implementation of plans for the Bicol River Basin.
Meanwhile, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund “L-Ray” Villafuerte Jr. requested the DPWH to dredge the low-lying areas of the Bicol River, particularly the Libmanan-Cabusao and the Nabua-Bato-Baao Lake.
Villafuerte cited areas prone to flooding because the river is too shallow. He said dredging could be an immediate solution before fully implementing the master plan. | PND
