Aired (November 30, 2024): Ilang flood control projects ng gobyerno, ilang taon pa lang ang nakalipas, bumigay na ang ilang bahagi! Pero ang ginastos sa mga ito, milyon-milyong piso.
Paano nga ba humantong sa ganitong sitwasyon ang mga proyektong dapat sana’y poprotekta sa mga residente sa panahon ng sakuna? Paano nga ba ginastos ang pera?
NASAAN ANG PERA? #ReportersNotebook
Paano nga ba humantong sa ganitong sitwasyon ang mga proyektong dapat sana’y poprotekta sa mga residente sa panahon ng sakuna? Paano nga ba ginastos ang pera?
NASAAN ANG PERA? #ReportersNotebook
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FunTranscript
00:00The protection of the residents of Araya and Pampanga will serve to fight the flood
00:10with this slope protection or retaining wall on the side of the river.
00:16It's worth almost Php 100 million.
00:22But it hasn't been a year since this was done.
00:27Why did the flood control project suddenly stop?
00:34It's not familiar. It's dangerous.
00:38Because the wall is broken.
00:41I don't know.
00:42There's a lot of metal in the water.
00:45And there's a crack.
00:47I don't know if it will work.
00:54That's why the residents living on the side of the river
00:59had to flee because of the flood.
01:02I don't know.
01:05Where are you going? It's dangerous.
01:10The flood is coming.
01:12We are calling for help.
01:14God is with us.
01:16People are drowning.
01:18It's very dangerous.
01:22Why did you design this?
01:29This project is a waste.
01:34It's a waste of money.
01:37This retaining wall is 100 meters long.
01:40It was built so that the flood won't reach the town of Araya
01:43when the water level in the river rises.
01:46But after more than a year,
01:48this part of the retaining wall has already collapsed.
01:53In the town of Licab, Nueva Ecija,
01:56a flood control project was also destroyed
01:58in the aftermath of the Super Typhoon Pepitong.
02:05It's worth more than 47 million pesos.
02:10Because of the destruction of the project,
02:12the entire town was flooded
02:14and some farmers lost their livelihood.
02:17This part was destroyed
02:20and all the water came to us.
02:29Every project was spent by the town.
02:34That's why we should investigate
02:38and ask,
02:40where is the money?
02:52Mom, I'm hungry.
02:57Yesterday, August 16, 2024,
02:59residents of Barangay Cantading, Araya, and Pampanga
03:03were forced to leave their homes
03:05when the land next to the river suddenly split
03:08after the rain.
03:11It's so bad.
03:14It's worse than this.
03:17It's even worse than this.
03:19It was destroyed.
03:24Because Pampanga is considered a catch basin,
03:29the Department of Public Works and Highways
03:33or DPWH built a slope protection
03:35or retaining wall project.
03:40This will serve as protection for the residents
03:43and the community whenever the water level rises
03:45in the Pampanga River.
03:49But on the morning of August 17,
03:51the land split even bigger
03:54and the retaining wall was destroyed.
04:00Guys, there's a fire here.
04:02It's burning.
04:06There's a fire here.
04:08It's dangerous.
04:10There's a fire here.
04:15It's deep here.
04:17There's a hole here.
04:19There's a crack here.
04:21It's a crack.
04:23I'm sure it will explode.
04:27I don't know.
04:30Because of the earthquake,
04:32the land around the destroyed project
04:34is almost completely destroyed.
04:37Even the houses are destroyed.
04:39Come here.
04:41It's dangerous.
04:43There's a fire here.
04:46We're calling you.
04:48God is with you.
04:50There's a fire here.
04:52It's dangerous.
04:55The resident, Marcos Castillo,
04:57noticed the land splitting
04:59and the landslides
05:01in their area.
05:03At first,
05:05it was like half a meter per day.
05:07The next day,
05:09it was one meter.
05:11Now, it's three meters.
05:15It's deep.
05:17But one night,
05:19he heard a loud explosion.
05:22The project was already under construction.
05:30That's where the concrete
05:32and the steel
05:34is splitting.
05:36That's where it's splitting.
05:38When we woke up,
05:40we noticed
05:42that the land was falling.
05:44The land was slowly falling.
05:47When the retaining wall was built,
05:49his house collapsed
05:51and almost nothing was left.
05:55This is my house.
05:57That's the kitchen
05:59and the room.
06:01Half of the room fell.
06:03Can I sleep here?
06:05Of course,
06:07I can't.
06:09I have to take care of it.
06:11It's very heavy.
06:13I grew up here
06:15with my family.
06:17I won't just leave
06:19this land.
06:23In the document obtained
06:25by the Reporter's Notebook
06:27from DPWH,
06:29the retaining wall is worth
06:31Php 91.6 million.
06:33In February 2023,
06:35DPWH started the project
06:37Flood Management Program
06:39Rehabilitation of Flood Mitigation Facilities
06:41within Major River Basins.
06:45It was declared 100% completed
06:47in October 2023.
06:51The General Appropriations Act
06:53or GAA,
06:55or Kaban ng Bayan,
06:57had no funds.
06:59But less than a year later,
07:01the project started.
07:05On August 19,
07:07two days after the project started,
07:09the Reporter's Notebook
07:11went to the project.
07:15This retaining wall
07:17is 100 meters long.
07:19It was built
07:21so that it won't flood
07:23the town of Arayat
07:25when the water rises
07:27in the river.
07:29The construction started
07:31in February 2023,
07:33but after more than a year,
07:35this part of the retaining wall
07:37has already collapsed.
07:39We were lucky that the contractor
07:41was able to repair
07:44What are you restoring now?
07:46Did you know?
07:48Have you taken into consideration
07:50that it could flood again
07:52because the land will move?
07:54Actually, we already put
07:56a water basin outside.
07:58We put big debris
08:00so that it won't flood.
08:02The land here is already
08:04damaged.
08:06This project is 107 meters long.
08:08In the flood,
08:1050 meters were damaged
08:13The contractor explained that
08:15they just followed the design
08:17given by the DPWH.
08:19What did the DPWH say
08:21about the design?
08:23Yes, because that's what
08:25they do in other projects.
08:27That's what we did.
08:31But in the design,
08:33did they say that
08:35the land could move?
08:37No.
08:39Why don't you know?
08:41If this retaining wall is built,
08:43it will cost almost P100 million.
08:45Why don't you know
08:47that it will happen?
08:49Shouldn't you have studied it?
08:51We didn't study it.
08:53So it's a waste.
08:55This project is a waste.
08:57That's why we're doing
08:59a restoration.
09:01Reporters Notebook went to
09:03the office of DPWH Region 3
09:05to find out why
09:07the P100 million project
09:09was affected.
09:11The affected area
09:13of our project
09:15is where the
09:17embankment was settled.
09:19Then our sheet piles
09:21tilted
09:23towards the river.
09:25There are dead man
09:27or anchors there.
09:29You can see that
09:31they really
09:33resisted.
09:35But because of the
09:37weight of the water,
09:39or the soil
09:41underneath.
09:43According to DPWH,
09:45before the project was implemented
09:47and started,
09:49their agency will be blamed.
09:51Of course, there will be a survey
09:53and a plan will be made.
09:55But before the plan is made,
09:57there will be an investigation.
09:59Like the soil,
10:01the water,
10:03the topography of the
10:05location of the project
10:07that you want to do.
10:09After the
10:11construction of the project,
10:13they promised to continue
10:15monitoring the contractors
10:17in its repair.
10:19Accordingly, our contractors
10:21are repairing.
10:23We are monitoring them.
10:25The government will not spend
10:27anything because the project
10:29is under warranty.
10:31But in the middle of
10:33the repair of the retaining wall,
10:35the other parts of the project
10:37fell again
10:39because of the storm.
10:45In this video,
10:47you can see that
10:49the damaged part of the project
10:51almost sank because of the water.
11:03The reporter's notebook
11:05brought the location back.
11:07The old
11:09dented retaining wall
11:11completely collapsed
11:13and almost fell into the river.
11:21The residents living
11:23around it were more scared.
11:25Of course, we were scared.
11:27Is that Christine?
11:29The one who saved us?
11:32It collapsed.
11:34It was like it exploded.
11:36And when the flood came,
11:38it didn't last long
11:40because the houses fell.
11:44Three months after the collapse
11:46of the retaining wall,
11:48this is what the house of Marcos looks like now.
11:52Their kitchen and room
11:54completely collapsed.
11:56The ground was sinking
11:58until it fell
12:00into the house.
12:02There's still a little bit left.
12:06The couple decided
12:08to temporarily leave the place.
12:12Of course, I'm worried
12:14especially because
12:16we're just staying here.
12:18It's a different feeling
12:20to be at home.
12:22I'm waiting for it to end
12:24so that we can come back here.
12:26We again interviewed
12:28VPWH Region 3.
12:30You've mentioned before, sir,
12:32that you will monitor
12:34the ongoing repair.
12:36But sir, what happened?
12:38Why did that project
12:40collapse again?
12:42The problem is
12:44when the water comes,
12:46like for example,
12:48the potato, when the water rises,
12:50we can't do the repair.
12:52So mostly, when it falls,
12:54that's when we do the repair.
12:56We do it quickly
12:58to protect
13:00the people.
13:04We showed an expert
13:06the damaged part of the retaining wall.
13:08According to him,
13:10the sheet pile can really be used.
13:12It's an appropriate material as a slope protection.
13:14The question is, is the design right?
13:16The thickness of the steel used,
13:18the layout,
13:20the depth that penetrates
13:22inside. The way I look at this,
13:24from this point of view,
13:26this should be protected.
13:28It's also important
13:30to re-study the design
13:32before doing the project again.
13:34Review the previous design
13:36which failed
13:38and involve the other DC team.
13:40It shouldn't have
13:42a failure if the
13:44design considerations are correct.
13:48There's an additional design there.
13:50It's a suggestion to put
13:52corrugated pipes.
13:54There are holes
13:56at the bottom
13:58so that the softening
14:00of the soil
14:02can be avoided.
14:06The work there is amazing.
14:08If you look at it now,
14:10we're within
14:1240%
14:14of completion.
14:18They also assure that
14:20the funds will be used
14:22to rebuild the damaged part of the retaining wall.
14:24It's an underwater type.
14:26That's why
14:28we're using it
14:30as a fund
14:32taking into consideration
14:34all the
14:36things that happened there.
14:40In the town of Dikab de Vaisiha,
14:42a flood control project
14:44was built by DPWH.
14:46It's considered
14:48a catch basin
14:50in Nueva Ecijang, Ilikab.
14:52But one part
14:54of the flood control project
14:56was damaged
14:58by a typhoon.
15:02In the document obtained
15:04by the reporter's notebook from DPWH,
15:06the project started in February
15:08and ended in Marito in June 2020.
15:10It's worth
15:12more than P47 million.
15:16This was obtained by residents
15:18in Nueva Ecija, Ilikab.
15:20You can see here
15:22the taste of the super typhoon Pipito.
15:26That's where
15:28the impact of the water was.
15:30The water from
15:32that river came here.
15:34It directly reached
15:36our crops
15:38like eggplant, vegetables,
15:40corn, and rice.
15:42The crops of
15:44Simang Jose Padrones
15:46were destroyed
15:48by the flood.
15:50We didn't expect
15:52the flood to come here.
15:56What we fear
15:58is the typhoon.
16:00In the early morning,
16:02suddenly,
16:04the water
16:06was flowing
16:08to our fields.
16:10In the afternoon,
16:12suddenly,
16:14our fields were saved.
16:16That's why
16:18in front of my field,
16:20in August,
16:22all of our crops were washed out.
16:24Only a few trees
16:26were left.
16:28Only a few trees were left.
16:30It's not good anymore.
16:34The biggest problem of Simang Jose
16:36is how to recover
16:38more than Php 50,000
16:40that was borrowed.
16:42We spent a lot
16:44to recover it.
16:46Then, everything was destroyed.
16:50Why was the project destroyed
16:52just 4 years ago?
16:54Our project is
16:56first of all,
16:58the rainfall
17:00or the water runoff
17:02from the Talavera River
17:04has a high volume.
17:06For the EPWH,
17:08we were not able to put
17:10a sheet pile
17:12on our slope protection
17:14because we did not expect
17:16that the water flow
17:18would be too high.
17:20The rainfall
17:22caused the damage.
17:24We have already
17:26requested funds
17:28for that.
17:30We are just waiting for the funds
17:32to be released so that we can rehabilitate the dike.
17:36Secretary,
17:38we cannot avoid
17:40the affected communities
17:42to think
17:44that these projects
17:46are substandard
17:48or have quality problems
17:50or the construction is not good.
17:52How would you address that, Secretary?
17:54What we are saying is
17:56that the design parameters
17:58were low
18:00to cope up with
18:02the climate change phenomenon.
18:04We are rehabilitating
18:06to make it stronger
18:08and we will be using
18:10new design standards.
18:14According to the EPWH,
18:16more than 5,500
18:18flood control projects
18:20were completed from 2022
18:22to 2024.
18:24The total funds spent
18:26on those projects
18:28amounted to more than
18:30Php 268 billion.
18:32The region 3 or
18:34central zone is the largest
18:36with more than 800 projects.
18:38More than 600
18:40flood control projects were built
18:42in the National Capital Region
18:44or NCR.
18:46More than 600 in Region 1
18:48or Ilocos Region.
18:50More than 400 projects in Region 2
18:52or Cagayan Valley.
18:54Region 4A or Calabar Zone.
18:56And Region 8 or
18:58Eastern Visayas.
19:00Let's go to Region 5
19:02or Bicol Region.
19:08Reporters also visited
19:10some flood control projects
19:12in NCR
19:14like the one located
19:16in Binondo, Manila.
19:18We were able to reach
19:20the two parts of the
19:22Flood Mitigation Facility
19:24in Estero de Binondo.
19:26This is where the garbage
19:28from the waterways
19:30is collected to avoid
19:32flooding.
19:34Despite the thousands
19:36of flood control projects,
19:38the number of floods
19:40in Region 3, NCR
19:42and Bicol Region
19:44is increasing.
19:46Flood control projects
19:48are still a viable option
19:50or it's high time
19:52to think of other options.
19:54We have to understand also
19:56that engineering intervention
19:58is just one of the solutions
20:00to mitigate flooding.
20:02I think we should
20:04help each other
20:06to avoid flooding
20:08problems.
20:10Environmental issues,
20:12urban areas,
20:14land use
20:16and
20:18waste management.
20:21The water level is really high.
20:23President Bongbong Marcos also asked
20:25why despite having
20:27a billion pesos worth
20:29of flood control projects,
20:31the number of floods
20:33in the country is still increasing.
20:35If you look at the statistics,
20:37in Baguio-Undoy,
20:39the water level dropped
20:41400 plus centimeters.
20:43Here in Cristin,
20:45the water level dropped
20:47about 700 plus centimeters.
20:49Almost twice that of Undoy.
20:51That's why the flood control
20:53projects were made
20:55for areas like Undoy.
20:57The time has really changed.
20:59Just this November 6,
21:01the Senate proposed
21:03a fund for
21:05flood control projects
21:07worth more than 500 billion pesos
21:09within 3 years.
21:11The budget of our government
21:13for flood control alone
21:15including DPWH,
21:17MMDA, Climate Change Commission,
21:19DENR, etc.
21:21is worth
21:231,444,000,000 pesos a day.
21:25So,
21:27we want to check and know
21:29where this is going to go.
21:33How is this going to change
21:35the time now?
21:37The floods are increasing.
21:39How are you preparing
21:41for such scenarios?
21:43We have to review the fundamentals
21:45on engineering
21:47designs.
21:49Maybe we will add
21:51our parameters
21:53to make our
21:55projects more
21:57resilient
21:59for the climate change phenomenon.
22:01If we are using
22:0325-30 years
22:05return period,
22:07maybe we will use
22:0950 years return period.
22:15Billions of pesos were spent
22:17for the government's
22:19flood control projects.
22:23But it is clear
22:25that some of them
22:27did not become effective
22:29so many drowned in the floods.
22:33Floods that cause
22:35damage to many households,
22:41damage to hectares of
22:43livelihoods,
22:45and are dangerous
22:47to the residents.
22:49Until next Saturday,
22:51I am Mackie Pulido.
22:53I am Jun Valeracion.
22:55And this is the Reporter's Notebook.