Flood Control, Rehab Projects To Get Sufficient Budget – Marcos

Flood control, which is at the center of corruption issues, will get sufficient funding as the need to sustain rehabilitation efforts to spare communities from devastation remains a priority of the administration, President Marcos said on Monday, June 22.

“That is part of the budget and we will ensure that it will not be touched when it undergoes the budget process,” Marcos told reporters in Cebu following the inspection of the rehabilitation of the Mananga River in Talisay City.

He stressed that next year’s national budget contains funding for rehabilitation projects.

“We will continue what we are doing so that there will be no repeat of the impact of the typhoons, river overflows and floods,” Marcos said.

He added that the government also built a new drainage system and designated a “no build zone” to mitigate the impact of weather disturbances.

“Together with the help of the local governments, we found ways to relocate our countrymen living here because if they stay here, they would be placed at risk,” he added. “We will still continue to repair and to redesign the flood control here.”

Marcos also inspected the Metro Cebu Expressway Segment 3A Rehabilitation in Naga City also in Cebu. The project was undertaken after a landslide hit the area in October 2023.

After conducting project inspections, the President led the launch of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)’s Walang Gutom Kitchen in Cebu City. It was the second kitchen to be launched, the first one inaugurated in 2024 in Pasay City.

The DSWD initiative provides free and nutritious breakfast and lunch daily to identified beneficiaries and walk-in clients.

“We will continue this. We will establish more Walang Gutom centers,” he said, adding that another kitchen would be launched in Zamboanga.

In Bohol, President Marcos inaugurated an P833.37-million irrigation project, as the government adopts various measures to cushion the impact of a possible severe El Niño.

The Mabini-Cayacay Small Reservoir Irrigation Project (SRIP) in the municipalities of Mabini and Alicia is projected to provide irrigation to 530 hectares of farmland.

It will serve agricultural areas in Barangays Abaca, San Roque, Aguipo and Cabidian in Mabini, as well as Barangay Cayacay in Alicia.

The SRIP includes a 32.20-meter-high, 210-meter-long dam, an ungated ogee-weir spillway and an 11.31-kilometer main canal. The facility draws water from the Baujanan and Cawasan Creeks for distribution to farms within the service area. The reservoir can accommodate 3.82 million cubic meters, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) said.

“According to our data, there is a high possibility that the country will experience severe El Niño that can last until next year, 2027,” Marcos said.

“This will ease their concern over the effects of El Niño because they are assured of water supply for their crops,” he added.

“With enough supply of water, expect bigger harvest, especially palay and high-value vegetable crops,” Marcos maintained.

He added the irrigation system would also allow farmers to plant from two to three times a year.

As part of preparations for El Niño, farmers have been encouraged to diversify their crops and adopt water-efficient farming practices, the President said.

He said high-value crops such as watermelon, ginger, purple yam, peanuts and eggplant are among the recommended alternatives because they generally consume less water than rice.

The other SRIPs in Bohol are the Bonot-Bonot in Buenavista, Hibale in Danao, Catungawan in Guindulman and the Mandaug in Calape. Another irrigation project in the province is the Molinao Dam Improvement Project in Pilar.

These projects are expected to provide irrigation to thousands of hectares of farmland, benefiting more than 2,400 farmers across the province.

Joining the President at the inauguration ceremonies was NIA administrator Eduardo Guillen and local officials.

In Quezon City, meanwhile, First Lady Liza Marcos led a rice distribution drive aimed at assisting vulnerable households. The distribution drive, which is part of the Mula sa Puso Para sa Pamilya initiative, was held in Barangay Doña Imelda in the city’s fourth district.

“I am here as a mother because I know, as a mother, it is important to have food on our table,” the First Lady said.

About 1,200 beneficiaries received 10 kilos of rice worth P550 under the initiative funded by the Local Government Support Fund, which was released by the Office of the President to the city government.

The President’s office provided P462.9 million to the city government for the rice subsidy program, which also benefits local farmers by buying their produce, a Palace statement quoted Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte as saying.

Belmonte said 210,455 families are expected to benefit from the program or roughly 25 percent of the city’s total number of families.