DPWH to factor in climate change in flood projects
THE DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is now considering the effect of climate change for the formulation of its new flood management plans, its top official said on Thursday.
The DPWH is planning to implement flood management projects within a longer timeframe, stressing the need to consider how climate change could affect the structural integrity of projects, Public Works Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan said during the congressional budget hearing.
He added the department is aiming to build a flood management infrastructure that could last for up to a century.
“Before, our flood control infrastructure was designed using the 30-year return period, but because of climate change we’re changing our parameters in designing our flood control programs,” he said.
“We’re considering somewhere between 50-100 years from now all because of climate change, all the more that we would need for maintenance funds… once these projects will be implemented,” he added.
Moreover, Mr. Bonoan said that it isn’t feasible for the government to implement a nationwide flood control masterplan, citing that measures to control flooding of each river basin vary from one another.
“The requirement for each river basin is unique from one another. We cannot integrate it into just one integrated master plan for the country,” he said.
The DPWH is allotting a proposed P298 billion for its flood control projects for next year, said Mr. Bonoan. This is 22% higher than the current P244.5 billion funding for flood management.
Mr. Bonoan said in July that the department will be implementing over 5,000 flood mitigation projects this year. This is on top of the 5,521 flood control projects completed between July 2022 and May 2024, according to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio