Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri on Wednesday expressed his support for the resolution seeking to investigate the “perennial” floods in the National Capital Region and other areas.
At a press briefing, Zubiri said he is in “full support” of Senate Resolution 693, which aims to investigate the flooding in the NCR and other low-lying areas in the country.
“I am in full support of the investigation of Senator Joel Villanueva. The problem in our country is that during the rainy season, we have plenty of water that we can use to irrigate the farmlands but instead, it ended up being stagnant water in flood-prone areas,” he said.
“During the dry season, we don’t have enough water. We are rationing water,” he added.
The Senate chief also expressed doubts about whether the huge sum of funds allotted for flood mitigation projects was really used for its intended purposes or not.
“Like what I mentioned yesterday if Amsterdam can control its floods in their areas with high-tech development and equipment maybe we can also do that to our country,” he said.
“With the huge amount of money being spent by the DPWH (Department of Public Work and Highways) for flood control which perhaps, they are just putting in their pockets,” he added.
In filing Senate Resolution No. 693, Villanueva said that “flooding continues to be a perennial problem, not only in highly urbanized areas but in rural areas as well.”
“There is a need to review the policies and revisit the programs and plans of DPWH, MMDA, DENR, and other relevant agencies on flood mitigation to ensure comprehensive solutions that will safeguard lives, minimize damages, and preserve the environment,” the resolution read.
Other areas the lawmaker mentioned in his resolution that experiences frequent floodings were Dagupan City, and Pampanga and Bataan provinces.