MABALACAT CITY, Pampanga – As flooding eased in parts of Pampanga, agricultural and fisheries damage climbed to an estimated P748.8 million, a local business leader prompted a call for a broader, basin-wide approach to the province’s recurring flood problems.
In a statement, Capampangan business leader Rene Romero said the province should look beyond its annual cycle of flooding, dredging and repairs, and examine how water moves through the entire Pampanga River Basin.
Romero acknowledged the role of dredging, desilting, dikes, drainage improvements, pumping stations, and other flood-control measures but expressed doubts if such interventions, when pursued separately, can address a problem that crosses municipal boundaries.
Romero said flooding should increasingly be treated as a river-basin and water-management issue because water does not stop at barangay, municipal, or provincial boundaries.
PDRRMO assessed that flooding in Pampanga is being driven by several factors, including continued rainfall, high tide, overflowing rivers and creeks, upstream water flows, drainage problems, and the province’s low-lying terrain.
Candaba remained among the hardest-hit areas, with 32 flooded barangays. Water reached six feet in some areas and as high as 14 feet in others, according to the PDRRMO.
Masantol had 26 flooded barangays, while Guagua and Macabebe each had 25.
The Pampanga River Basin assessment placed the water level in Candaba at 6.20 meters, above the reported 5-meter critical level. Water levels in Arayat, Sasmuan and Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija, had reached the orange, or near-critical, level.
Gov. Lilia Pineda also called for a review of ongoing flood-control projects and said some may not have been completed.
Pineda said the government should consider temporarily stopping some flood-control works to assess whether they were addressing persistent flooding in low-lying towns.
The governor said low-lying towns continued to experience flooding and that flood-control projects should be studied before additional construction proceeds.
Romero, likewise, urged authorities to look beyond simply moving floodwater downstream and consider where excess water can be temporarily stored during extreme rainfall.
He cited detention and retention basins, reservoirs, wetlands, floodplains and, where scientifically appropriate, multipurpose dams as possible components of a broader flood-management system.
He also urged greater attention to natural flood-storage areas such as the Candaba Swamp which can temporarily accommodate large volumes of water.
‘Perhaps the better question is not where should we dredge next? But how should we manage the water from the time it falls downstream until it safely reaches the sea?’ Romero said.
‘A drainage project in one town should not simply transfer water to the next town. A dike should not protect one community while unintentionally worsening flooding somewhere else,’ he added.
According to Romero, the central proposal is a long-term, integrated flood and water-management roadmap for the Pampanga River Basin.
Romero argued combining engineered infrastructure with nature-based measures, including the protection or restoration of wetlands and floodplains where appropriate. He also pointed to rapid development as part of the flood-management discussion.