President Marcos said that the government plans to build five sabo dams in Nueva Ecija in 2027 as part of measures to mitigate recurring flooding in Central Luzon.
Sabo dams are structures designed to trap sediment and debris in upstream areas, reducing erosion and slowing the movement of sediment downstream. Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism mentioned in its website that they can also help control debris flows and stabilize river channels.
Marcos said the five projects would slow the flow of water from the Sierra Madre, reduce siltation and, in the government’s plan, help store water for household use and agricultural irrigation. The projects are among the immediate, medium-, and long-term measures discussed during a situation briefing on flooding in Central Luzon, Marcos said.
‘The immediate term is to fix what was damaged,’ Marcos said in an interview.
He said the government would also pursue longer-term measures to ensure that repaired infrastructure would not be repeatedly damaged by heavy rains and flooding.
The announcement came as Pampanga dealt with prolonged flooding that has displaced thousands of residents. Marcos visited evacuation centers in Bacolor on Monday prior conducting an aerial inspection of flood-hit areas in Pampanga and Bulacan.
At the Bacolor Mini Convention Center, Marcos met with 62 families comprising 276 individuals who had been sheltering there for 16 days, according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).
He also visited the Bacolor Integrated School, where 216 families comprising 836 individuals were staying. Across Bacolor, 11 evacuation centers were housing 559 families or about 2,221 individuals, the PCO said.
Marcos said the volume and intensity of the rainfall had overwhelmed existing flood-management measures and pointed to climate change as a factor behind increasingly severe weather events.
‘We also need to understand that it is not only because of problems with flood-control projects, but also because of the intensity of the rain that we have not seen in the history of the Philippines,’ he said.
Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda said the province has long been vulnerable to flooding because water from upstream areas including Aurora, the Sierra Madre, and Nueva Ecija eventually flows toward Pampanga and Manila Bay.
‘We have been submerged for a long time,’ Pineda said. ‘Sometimes we can no longer handle the water coming down from the upper areas.’
Pineda said the planned series of dams could help hold back water before it reaches downstream communities in Pampanga. She said the projects give residents hope for a long-term solution to the province’s recurring floods.
Other measures under consideration include dredging and declogging waterways, building floodgates and pumping stations, and constructing a proposed road-dike stretching about 100 kilometers toward Bataan. Marcos said the road-dike remains under study.
The government, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation, also provided P10,000 in cash assistance as well as food packs and hot meals for evacuees.
Marcos said assistance would continue as long as affected residents need it.
‘It is still a developing situation,’ he said. ‘We will continue to monitor and do everything we can to mitigate very strong rains and the flooding that comes with it.’