The Philippine government has designated 30 strategic sites across Metro Manila for the construction of subterranean water retention tanks to curb severe urban flooding, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed during a status assessment at the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Command Center in Pasig City.
Detailed engineering plans for the designated properties—which include Rajah Sulayman Park, Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Camp Aguinaldo, and the University of Santo Tomas campus—are slated for completion within the month. Surface ground will be fully restored following subterranean excavation.
The administration is negotiating with landowners and administrators to secure excavation permits before commencing staged construction based on site priority:
”We are already, at present time, conferring and speaking to the areas, kung sinuman ang namamahala doon sa mga area na ‘yun na pumayag sila para hukayin nga ‘yung kanilang lugar,” President Marcos stated.
Rather than discharging stored rainwater into the bay, the President directed agencies to convert the impounded volumes for productive use:
”Gagawa tayo ng sistema para kung anuman ‘yung nakolekta na tubig ay magamit din,” he noted, highlighting applications for domestic supply, industrial processes, and agricultural irrigation.
The initiative forms part of a multi-tiered flood management strategy alongside river dredging, drainage overhauls, seawall construction, and pumping station deployments.
The recent southwest monsoon impacted 4,700 barangays and 1.7 million families, resulting in 27 fatalities and 17 injuries.
Despite the damage, Marcos highlighted accelerated water recession times due to ongoing maintenance efforts, supported by 73 active pumping stations and 11 mobile pumping units:
”Ang isa pang bagay diyan ay mas mabilis na ang paglabas ng tubig,” Marcos explained. “Kung dati maghihintay ang tao ng dalawa, tatlong araw bago mawala ‘yung baha, ngayon wala pang isang araw ay wala na.”
Addressing extreme precipitation patterns—such as the 201.7 mm of rainfall recorded within five hours, representing 44 percent of Typhoon Ondoy’s 24-hour total—the President linked the severe weather to global climate shifts:
”‘Yan ang ating hinaharap ngayon dahil nga sa climate change,” he said. “Now this is a little bit — becoming a little bit like the new normal.”
He credited continuous infrastructure maintenance over the past seven months with mitigating even worse destruction:
”This is the effect of the work of the last six, seven months na nakita natin, nakabawas kaagad,” Marcos concluded, emphasizing that short-, medium-, and long-term flood engineering projects will continue nationwide.