By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
With the arrival of southwest monsoon (habagat) signaling the start of the rainy season, the government continues to ramp up its preparations to keep Filipinos from being inundated by floodwaters and devastated by tropical cyclones, among other key priorities.
This, as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) sustains the momentum of the administration’s Oplan Kontra Baha initiative, with the recent G. Araneta Drainage Improvement Project already yielding positive results for residents living near the San Juan River.
In a briefing on Tuesday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro read the statement of Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon outlining the agency’s interventions for the wet weather expected to prevail in the coming months.
Usec. Castro told the media, “Tuloy-tuloy din ang dredging activities, hindi rin tumitigil ang DPWH since November 2025 na mag-clearing at declogging ng mga waterways. Mabilis din nagde-deploy ang DPWH ng mga maintenance crew sa mga lugar na binabaha nitong mga nakaraang araw.”
When asked about how the DPWH would handle stalled flood control projects across the country, she said that these infrastructures sit atop the agency’s priority list, with Dizon vowing to complete this to help win the quest against floodwaters inundating low-lying communities.
On the aspect of investigating anomalous flood control projects, Malacañang said that the DPWH has already submitted the facts gathered by the agency to the Office of the Ombudsman for further analysis and prompt legal action.
As of press time, the DPWH has yet to uncover other ‘ghost’ and anomalous flood control projects, apart from those revealed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in his 2025 State of the Nation Address.
jpv
