Following the visit to the flooded areas in Bulacan and Pampanga, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. tasked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to take action on the concerns raised by residents particularly the flooding of the roads leading to the provinces.

DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan said the President has tasked the department to solve the flooding of a portion of North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) bridge connecting the two provinces.

“Well, that’s the instruction that we got yesterday so we are now going to look for the funds actually to be able to gawin namin iyong pagtaas ng existing na tulay,” Bonoan said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

He said that the President has considered the project an urgent matter which he will personally attend to. It is anticipated that the project will be completed in a few months time.

“Medyo itataas po namin ay iyong existing tulay that crosses over the NLEX ‘no but itataas lang po namin iyong tulay and then NLEX will also raise their carriage wing nila,” Bonoan said when asked about the consensus between him and the President on how to solve the flooding in the NLEX.

“One of the ideas or the concepts that had been floated up during the discussion is actually (the) impounding area in the Candaba swamp,” Bonoan said.

Bonoan said “there’s going to be a technical study” that will be undertaken to implement the impounding area program with the objective to be a more permanent and long-lasting solution.

Bonoan also addressed the query on the blockage of waterways in Bulacan, agreeing that it should be kept open and free of debris.

“Iyong mga ginagawa naming mga bypasses, we make sure na hindi ka talaga nakakabara ng mga waterways,” Bonoan said.

Bonoan stressed the need to increase the carrying capacity of the rivers in Bulacan to hasten the flow of the floodwaters emptying to Manila Bay. PND