SAN ANTONIO, Nueva Ecija — Central Luzon legislators and local officials on Friday have thrown their support to a PHP54-billion flood mitigation project which seeks to curb flooding in Pampanga and Bulacan.
The meeting was presided by House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, upon receiving information that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to bid the feasibility study for the program on October 11, which include the construction of the stalled Pampanga Delta Development Project (PDDP) 2.
PDDP 2 was supposed to have been implemented as a sequel of the PDDP 1 during the administration of former President Fidel Ramos but faced strong opposition then by local Pampanga and Bulacan officials as well as local residents and non-government organizations.
The meeting was held in the light of massive destruction to crops and infrastructures brought by flash floods due to Typhoon Ompong that inundated huge areas in the region.
“Ang napag-usapan ngayon, plano ng Pampanga River project (na) ang baha ay dumadaan kung saan-saan sa Nueva Ecija bago bumababa ng Pampanga at saka Bulacan (What was discussed is for floods to go through different areas in Nueva Ecija before going down to Pampanga and Bulacan, under the Pampanga River project),” Arroyo said in an interview, noting that Pampanga and Bulacan turned out to be hard-hit by flooding.
Arroyo said the subject of the new proposal is actually the Phase 2, the first one called Pampanga Delta Development Project (PDDP) Flood Control Component being already undertaken while the Phase 3 that will cover flood path from Gabaldon and Rizal towns in Nueva Ecija to Arayat, Pampanga would come in 2019.
The DPWH, meanwhile, identified flood-prone areas in Central Luzon as affected by Lingayen Bay, Agno River and Pampanga River Basin as Moncada and Paniqui in Tarlac; Mt. Arayat, Mt. Pinatubo, Angeles City, San Fernando City and Lubao, all in Pampanga; Calumpit and Malolos City, both in Bulacan; and Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija.
Some of these places were also affected by lahar deposition.
“The program is composed of short-term and a long-term,” Arroyo said.
The short-term plan includes the dredging of Calisi, San Gabriel, and Balara Rivers, worth PHP450 million; and the installation of a floodgate at Mouth of Bebe-Anac Channel, PHP230-million.
The long term, on the other hand, include the construction of dike on both banks of Pampanga River, worth PHP15.32 billion; implementation of the Pampanga Delta Phase II, PHP16 billion; West Pampanga (six municipalities) Flood Control Project, PHP13.5 billion; and 40-kilometer dike with tidal gates, PHP 9.30 billion.
In an interview, Nueva Ecija (3rd District) Rep. Rosanna Vergara, whose office invested on the topographical survey to determine the condition of rivers and riverbeds in the district, said the DPWH and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources are working hand in hand with local government units, particularly Cabanatuan City, in crafting short and long-term flood mitigating programs.
“And they’re going to implement flood mitigating measures, the short term is desilting and the long term is building dikes to rechannel the pathway of the water,” she said. (Marilyn Galang/ PNA)
