The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is requesting an additional P5.4 billion budget for 2026 to fund at least three rainwater catchment facilities aimed at mitigating flooding in Metro Manila.
The MMDA is planning to build the rainwater catch basins at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City and at two locations in Manila.
According to MMDA Chairman Romando Artes, the facility in Quezon is estimated to cost P1.5 billion, as it will cover almost half a hectare, while the government might have to spend P2.2 billion for a nearly one-hectare facility at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum and another P1.7 billion in Rizal Park, both located in Manila.
The request was in addition to the P5.8-billion budget proposal of the MMDA for 2026.
‘We would like to request an amendment to our budget to fund at least three rain catchment facilities, which we believe will have a significant impact in addressing flooding in the areas where they will be constructed,’ Artes said in Filipino when he presented the agency’s budget proposal before the Senate finance subcommittee on Thursday.
The proposed funding for these facilities was not included in the 2026 National Expenditure Program.
Artes said based on their research and planning, the facilities could be completed within a year.
‘We expect to see the impact of this within one year,’ he said in Filipino.
Artes cited the case in Singapore, which used to experience chest-high flooding on Orchard Road, but it disappeared after a rainwater catchment system was built.
‘So we want to replicate it. We had it studied, and the Singaporean government kindly agreed to assist us in planning our rain catchment systems here in Metro Manila,’ he said in Filipino.
In the Philippines, the plan is to build 10-meter, or three- to four-story, rainwater catch basins that are durable and earthquake-resilient, the MMDA chief said.
Sen. JV Ejercito, who was presiding over the hearing, said the proposal was worth considering, although he noted that Filipinos are now ‘allergic’ to flood-control projects.
‘Whenever we mention flood control projects, they’re immediately rejected. But I believe there should be exemptions-especially for those that are truly necessary. So we’ll see what we can do about this, because the P250 billion originally allocated for flood control projects was realigned to other programs,’ he said in Filipino.
The amount was lodged under the Department of Public Works and Highways’ budget proposal for 2026, but the fund was realigned to the agriculture and health sectors amid corruption allegations involving flood control works./mcm/abc