Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 8) — Most of the government’s flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are on course to meet the target timeline, the agency’s chief said, even as lawmakers plan to probe the widespread flooding in Luzon.
“Let me put it this way, I can only speak for what we started. Actually, we have just been in this administration for one year and the projects that we’re implementing for flood control projects under the 2023 budget are ongoing,” DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan said Tuesday.This was Bonoan’s statement when sought for comments after some senators questioned the severe flooding experienced in some Luzon provinces despite the DPWH’s multibillion-peso budget.The DPWH chief, however, said that about ₱180 billion in funds for flood projects are spread out across the Philippines.The official acknowledged that there are some “small” contracts that have faced delays, but stressed that “most of them are ongoing.”“You can’t avoid issues on the right-of-way, acquisition of areas. Some of the weather disturbances. These are natural you can cope up within the next two years,” Bonoan said.He stressed that the projects were “on track.”
“We have two years to implement these projects,” he said.
The Senate public works committee is set to discuss the flooding problem on Wednesday, August 9.
