President Ferdinand Marcos emphasized the need to reassess flood control systems during an inspection in Valenzuela on Thursday, highlighting the differences between reports and on-ground reality.
“The reason I did this was to really inspect because I wanted to see what the situation was,” President Marcos said during his visit to an evacuation center in Malanday, Valenzuela City.
“It’s very different, listening, reading the piece of paper, than actually seeing what people had to go through.”
Valenzuela is one of the most affected cities in Metro Manila during the onslaught of Typhoon Carina and Southwest Monsoon.
The local government units (LGUs) have implemented numerous flood control measures. However, these measures were overwhelmed by the recent heavy rainfall.
“We have to reexamine some of the designs of our flood control,” President Marcos stated.
Mr. Marcos attributed some of the problems to a damaged navigation gate hit by a vessel, affecting areas like Navotas, Malabon, and Valenzuela.
He also pointed out issues with pumping stations, exacerbated by improper waste disposal blocking the pumps.
“Yesterday at noon, it was high tide. It was all coming together; the rain was heavy, and then the tide came in. At least now it’s pretty clear what the situation is,” he said.
President Marcos plans to inspect other flood-affected areas to determine further needs.
According to the President, he will coordinate with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release assistance packages for LGUs in the National Capital Region, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon.
“We’ll put everything together so we can go to DBM and tell them to release this already, so the local officials can use it,” he concluded.
