The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is intensifying its flood mitigation efforts nationwide to minimize the impact of the upcoming rainy season on vulnerable communities, following directives from President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Public Works Secretary Secretary Vince Dizon stated on Thursday that the agency has been executing continuous anti-flooding operations since the start of the year to ease the burden on residents living in low-lying and flood-prone areas.
“Tuloy tuloy po, ang kabilin-bilinan ni PBBM sa atin nitong simula ng taon kailangan lahat ng pwede nating magawa habang paparating ang tag-ulan gawin an natin. Para kahit papaano naman maibsan naman kahit konti itong mga kababayan natin dahil dito sa pagbaha,” Dizon said.
It is continuous, the strict instruction of PBBM to us since the start of the year is that we need to do everything we can while the rainy season is approaching. This is so that, somehow, we can ease the burden on our countrymen even just a little bit due to this flooding.
Among the critical urban initiatives is the G. Araneta Drainage Improvement Project along E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue in Quezon City, which was personally inspected by President Marcos on Wednesday, May 20.
According to Dizon, the project commenced in January 2026 and is scheduled for completion by next week. The upgrade significantly expands the area’s subterranean water capacity.
“Siguro by next week tapos na po ‘yung ating drainage improvement na tinimes 3 natin ‘yung laki ng ating mga drainage dati napakaliit ng mga drainage lang,” he said.
Maybe by next week our drainage improvement will be finished, where we tripled the size of our drainage compared to before when the drainages were just very small.
To further alleviate gridlock in Metro Manila, the DPWH has conducted dredging operations along the San Juan River and deployed mobile pumping units. However, Dizon admitted that while these measures address rapid flooding during moderate rains, they remain insufficient against extreme weather events on the scale of Severe Tropical Storm Ondoy.
To combat catastrophic deluges, the agency is coordinating with Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte to locate areas for detention basins, which temporarily store excess rainwater before it enters the overtaxed river systems.
“Ipinapaliwanag nga po natin kay Pangulo na hindi lang iisa ang solusyon sa baha. Sabay-sabay po dapat ginagawa ‘yan. ‘Yung pag-improve ng drainage, ‘yung pagdedredge, paglilinis ng basura tapos ‘yung mobile pump para po mabilis na ilabas ng bomba ‘yung tubig na nasa kalye,” Dizon explained.
We are explaining to the President that there is no single solution to flooding. Those must be done simultaneously: improving the drainage, dredging, cleaning up garbage, and then the mobile pump so that the pump can quickly flush out the water from the streets.
“Naghahanap tayo ng sinasabi nila detention pad or detention basin, ‘yung pag-iimbakan ng tubig na imbes na lahat ay pumupunta sa San Juan River ay mayroon munang temporrary na pag-iimbakan napupuntahan yung tubig… Kasi kapag yan yung Ondoy type event… tapos dire direto yan sa San Juan River, e kahit anong pang gawin natin, pagkakaroon mapupuno yung San Juan River. At pag napuno yung San Juan River, wala na pupuntahan yung tubig. So kailangan natin gumawa ng iba pang mga proyekto na pag-iimbakan ng tubig. Yan medyo matagal-tagal yan. Medyo matagal-tagal yan,” he added.
We are looking for what they call a detention pad or detention basin, a storage area for water so that instead of everything going straight to the San Juan River, there is a temporary catch basin for the water… Because if that is an Ondoy-type event… and it goes straight to the San Juan River, no matter what we do, the San Juan River will overflow. And when the San Juan River overflows, the water will have nowhere else to go. So we need to build other projects to store water. That will take a bit of time. That takes a bit of time.
Nationwide Inspections and Infrastructure Repairs
Beyond the capital, Dizon is conducting nationwide inspections of critical flood defense structures. In Arayat, Pampanga, the DPWH chief inspected a defective dike in Barangay Candating that had repeatedly collapsed in past years.
“Nandito po ako sa Araya, Pampanga, kasi may chinecheck ako na, ito ‘yung mga na flood control project dito na hindi maayos ang pagkagawa na inaayos na natin ngayon para maprotektahan natin yung mga kababayan natin na dito binabaha,” Dizon noted.
I am here in Arayat, Pampanga, because I am checking—these are the flood control projects here that were poorly constructed which we are now fixing to protect our countrymen who experience flooding here.
Dizon pointed out that portions of the dike were left unfinished and riddled with holes, severely compromising its structural integrity. To complement the dike repairs, the agency is currently dredging accumulated silt and soil from the Pampanga River.
Meanwhile, in Mindanao, Dizon ordered DPWH regional officials in Davao City to investigate severe flooding incidents reported over the weekend.
The agency has also mobilized the construction of a temporary bridge to replace the collapsed Callawa and Mandug bridges, with completion targeted within two to three weeks.