Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Heavy rainfall is expected in 18 provinces in Luzon on Monday due to the southwest monsoon, or ‘habagat,’ which is being enhanced by Tropical Depression Pilandok, the state weather bureau reported.

Based on its 5 a.m. heavy rainfall outlook, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said heavy to intense rains, or around 100 to 200 millimeters (mm) of rainfall, is expected to drench the following areas this Monday:

Ilocos Norte

Ilocos Sur

La Union

Abra

Pangasinan

Benguet

Zambales

Bataan

Tarlac

Pampanga

‘Numerous flooding events are likely, especially in areas that are urbanized, low-lying, or near rivers. Landslide likely in moderate to highly susceptible areas,’ Pagasa said.

Meanwhile, moderate to heavy rains, or around 50 to 100 mm of rainfall, are expected over the following areas:

Batanes

Apayao

Kalinga

Ifugao

Mountain Province

Nueva Vizcaya

Nueva Ecija

Bulacan

Under this condition, localized flooding is possible mainly in urbanized, low-lying or riverside areas, and landslides may occur in highly susceptible areas.

‘Forecast rainfall may be higher in mountainous and elevated areas, the weather bureau said, noting that impacts in some areas may be worsened by significant antecedent rainfall

Pagasa advised the public disaster risk reduction and management offices in the mentioned areas to take all necessary measures ‘to protect life and property.’

In a separate weather advisory on Monday morning, Pagasa reported that Tropical Depression Pilandok had slightly intensified while moving almost stationary over the Philippine Sea east of extreme Northern Luzon.

The tropical depression is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility by Wednesday evening or early Thursday morning.

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon has relieved a maintenance chief following reports of delayed response to calamities, as heavy rains continued to trigger flooding across Metro Manila and several other parts of Luzon.

In an Aug. 29 memorandum, Dizon ordered engineer Loreto Balena Jr. relieved as maintenance chief of the Las Piñas-Muntinlupa District Engineering Office.

Dizon cited Balena’s ‘unsatisfactory performance, lack of urgency, and delayed response to calamities’ as grounds for his removal.

Balena was directed to complete an inventory of his office’s properties, finish and sign pending documents and deliverables, and turn over official records and other papers.

Sen. JV Ejercito, meanwhile, urged the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to complete unfinished flood control projects before starting new ones, saying incomplete infrastructure could worsen the country’s vulnerability to flooding.

‘For practical reasons, we need to close the gaps so that mitigating or solving flood control would be effective,’ Ejercito, chair of the Senate finance committee, told DZBB on Sunday.

‘Close the gaps, complete the unfinished flood control projects. No new projects. Finish what needs to be finished,’ he added.Ejercito’s call came amid renewed scrutiny of the government’s multibillion-peso flood control program and concerns over unfinished or poorly implemented projects.

He also pushed for the proposed Masterplan for Infrastructure National Development, which he said would provide a long-term framework for infrastructure planning that would survive changes in administrations.

The proposed measure would integrate flood control with transportation, housing, water, energy, utilities and other major infrastructure, rather than allowing projects to be planned and implemented separately.

Ejercito said the government should prioritize the country’s 10 most flood-prone areas and use a 30- to 50-year framework to guide major infrastructure investments.

He said long-term planning could also strengthen accountability by giving projects clear objectives, timelines, and costs, and help prevent corruption by ensuring that projects form part of a coherent national plan.

Rain volume

The warnings came as Metro Manila was placed under a red rainfall warning by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) at 12:10 p.m. on Sunday.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said the metropolis had 186 millimeters of rain in 23 hours from 9 a.m. on Saturday to 8 a.m. on Sunday, based on data from the Pagasa Science Garden Station in Quezon City. A millimeter of rain amounts to a liter of water on a flat area.

Serious flooding remained possible in low-lying and flood-prone areas.

The MMDA said it was deploying mobile pumps, clearing clogged drains and waterways, and dredging and removing debris and garbage from drainage inlets as part of its flood mitigation efforts.

Classrooms damaged

The prolonged rains have also taken a toll on schools.

The Department of Education said 9,869 classrooms had been damaged by the combined effects of the ‘habagat’ (southwest monsoon) and tropical cyclones Luis, Maymay, Neneng, and Obet.

Of the total, 5,731 classrooms sustained minor damage, 2,055 suffered major damage, and 2,083 were totally damaged, according to the latest DepEd situation report as of 8 a.m. Sunday.

Central Luzon had the highest number of affected classrooms and schools, with 3,732, followed by Region I with 2,746 and the Cordillera Administrative Region with 1,266.

DepEd estimated that P280 million would be needed for minor repairs, P1 billion for major repairs, and P5.2 billion for reconstruction.

Cordillera technocrats are pushing to revive a regional governing body for the preservation of the country’s rice terraces, as calls grow for a comprehensive master plan to protect the World Heritage-listed landscape from abandonment, climate change and deteriorating infrastructure.

The Cordillera Regional Development Council is studying a draft resolution urging President Marcos to establish a Cordillera Rice Terraces Commission, which would oversee the conservation of rice terraces across the region.

The proposed commission would replace the Ifugao Rice Terraces Commission, which was created in 1994 to oversee the preservation and restoration of the terraces but was abolished in 1999. Its responsibilities were later transferred to the Banaue Rice Terraces Task Force, which was dissolved in 2002, leaving the provincial government of Ifugao to take the lead in conservation efforts.

The proposed body would also cover rice terraces outside Ifugao, including those in Mountain Province.

The Batad, Bangaan, Mayoyao, Hungduan and Nagacadan rice terraces in Ifugao were collectively inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage List in 1995.

The terraces remain notable for their indigenous engineering, in which water collected from forested areas at the upper portions of the mountains is channeled through traditional irrigation systems to successive rice paddies, locally called ‘payao.’

‘The establishment of the Cordillera Rice Terraces Commission is crucial for stopping the deterioration of the terraces,’ the draft resolution says. It adds that the body could help revitalize indigenous knowledge and sustainable farming practices while enabling younger generations to continue traditional agriculture.

The proposal comes as urban planner and architect Felino Palafox recently pitched to Malacañang a comprehensive master plan for Banaue and other municipalities where the Ifugao rice terraces are located.

During a meeting with Marcos last week, Palafox offered to prepare a Comprehensive Urban, Environmental, Infrastructure, and Economic Development Master Plan for Banaue and the Rice Terraces Municipalities of Ifugao.

His proposal goes beyond repairing damaged terrace walls and irrigation systems, focusing also on the terraces’ role in the local economy and the engineering interventions needed to preserve them.

It argues that the terraces are deteriorating partly because the communities maintaining them can no longer earn enough from farming to sustain their livelihoods.

Palafox estimated that 25 percent to 35 percent of the terraces have been abandoned or irreversibly damaged, citing population decline and environmental pressures, including extreme weather that has damaged the ancient stone and earthen terrace walls.

The proposal, cosigned by the Ifugao provincial government and Polish entrepreneur Maciej Podhajski, also cited low farm incomes as a reason residents leave the province, threatening the workforce needed to maintain the terraces.

Palafox placed the typical farmer’s annual income at about P50,000, which he described as insufficient to sustain a livelihood.

Ifugao officials have been reviewing the proposal and have yet to make their comments public.

Protecting culture

Former Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. said any master plan must address the needs of the communities that continue to maintain the terraces and grow heirloom rice.

‘We must protect and nurture the watershed,’ Baguilat said.

He said the government should subsidize farmers and provide livelihood support, rehabilitate irrigation systems and strengthen programs that preserve indigenous knowledge.

Ifugao communities follow a traditional rice culture that governs planting schedules and the maintenance of the terraces.

Baguilat also called for mechanisms that would allow farmers and local communities to benefit from tourism revenues generated by the terraces.

Often described as 2,000 years old, the Ifugao terraces have been the subject of archaeological research suggesting that some of the structures may have been built or significantly expanded only several hundred years ago, possibly in response to pressures brought by Spanish expansion into the Cordillera.

The terraces remain a living agricultural landscape, sustained not only by stone and earth structures but also by indigenous knowledge and communal practices passed down through generations.

Ifugao had a population of 208,668, according to the latest available census data. The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that in 2024, the province was the second-fastest growing economy in the Cordillera, accounting for 7.5 percent of the region’s gross domestic product, estimated at P28.24 billion.

The proposed commission and master plan are aimed at addressing the intertwined challenges of conservation, livelihood, tourism and climate resilience-while keeping the terraces a living part of Ifugao culture rather than simply preserving them as a heritage site.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday called on Filipinos to not just remember the nation’s heroes but also embody their courage and keep the flame of patriotism alive.

In his message in commemoration of National Heroes’ Day, Marcos said the public must renew their ‘solemn duty’ to carry forward the nation for which the heroes fought and sacrificed.

‘Our forebears won our freedom, defended our dignity, and laid the foundations of the Republic we cherish,’ he said.

‘We honor them best by embodying their courage, keeping the flame of patriotism alive, and becoming the citizens our country needs,’ the president said.

He noted that the heroes’ spirit lives on those who choose to ‘serve, care and contribute to a cause greater than oneself.’

These can be seen in soldiers and first responders who risk their lives to keep everyone safe, Marcos said.

‘We recognize it in our teachers, health workers, farmers, fisherfolk and overseas Filipinos who sustain our families and communities,’ he said.

‘We find it in every citizen who helps a neighbor, protects the vulnerable, and works honestly for the common good,’ Marcos added.

The president also hoped for Filipinos to continually prove themselves worthy of the liberty the heroes have fought for and build a country that future generations will proudly inherit.

Heavy traffic has been observed on sections of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), while the Libtong Exit in Meycauayan, Bulacan was temporarily closed on Monday.

This is due to flooding caused by the southwest monsoon or ‘habagat.’

In its 9 a.m. traffic advisory, the NLEx Corporation said traffic remains heavy along the NLEx-Candaba Viaduct, Tulaoc (San Simon, Pampanga), and the southbound lane of the San Simon Interchange due to continuous heavy rainfall or flooding on local roads.

‘Motorists approaching San Simon Northbound and San Simon Southbound may take the San Simon Exit and re-enter NLEx via the San Simon Entry as an alternative route to avoid the flooded section,’ the corporation said in the advisory.

‘The San Fernando Southbound Entry is temporarily closed due to heavy traffic in San Simon caused by water buildup,’ it added.

NLEx Corp. also noted that southbound motorists who want to return to the northbound lane may use U-turn slots before the Tulaoc Overpass and before the San Simon Interchange.

Patrol officers are on-site to assist motorists and manage the traffic situation in the areas, said the NLEx Corp.

Meanwhile, light traffic was continuously seen on the following NLEx roads:

Balintawak (northbound and southbound)

Valenzuela (northbound and southbound)

Meycauyan (northbound and southbound)

Bocaue (southbound)

San Simon Interchange (northbound)

Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway Concepcion entry and exit ramp

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) earlier reported that 18 provinces in Luzon are forecast to experience heavy rainfall this Monday due to the habagat enhanced by Tropical Depression Pilandok.

The weather bureau said Pilandok had slightly intensified while moving almost stationary over the Philippine Sea east of Extreme Northern Luzon.

The tropical depression is currently carrying a maximum sustained wind speed of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center (up from 45 kph from the Sunday evening bulletin), and gustiness of up to 70 kph (up from 55 kph). Pagasa said Pilandok is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility by Wednesday evening or early Thursday morning.

The number of families affected by heavy rains brought by the southwest monsoon or habagat in Calabarzon since the first week of August has risen to 305,959, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported on Sunday (Aug. 30).

The affected families are from 965 barangays across the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon.

The agency said the number of families who evacuated from their homes began increasing again on Aug. 29 due to heavy rains, particularly in Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.

Based on the latest reports from local governments, 7,074 families were still staying in 161 evacuation centers across the region as of noon Sunday.

Rizal had the highest number of operating evacuation centers with 72, followed by Cavite with 58, Laguna with 24 and Batangas with seven.

As of Aug. 30, the DSWD office in Calabarzon had distributed 260,072 family food packs to affected families.

A standard DSWD family food pack contains six kilograms of rice, canned goods such as corned beef, tuna, and sardines, as well as sachets of coffee or chocolate malt drink. It is intended to provide a family of five with food for two days.

The assistance was provided not only to families who evacuated but also to those who remained in their homes but were affected by heavy rains and flooding.

Due to the southwest monsoon, or ‘habagat,’ state meteorologists warned of heavy rainfall of up to 200 millimeters in 23 Luzon provinces on Sunday.

In its 5 a.m. outlook, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said an orange rainfall warning was in effect over Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, La Union, Benguet, Bataan, Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga.

Under an orange rainfall warning, these areas are expected to experience 100 to 200 millimeters of rain in the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, a yellow rainfall warning was hoisted over Metro Manila, Ilocos Norte, Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Occidental Mindoro.

These areas are anticipated to receive 50 to 100 millimeters of rain within the day.

According to Pagasa, three weather systems are being observed inside the Philippine area of responsibility.

These are Tropical Depression Sauder, formerly Obet, which is not directly affecting the country; a low-pressure area east of extreme northern Luzon; and the monsoon.

‘Right now, the southwest monsoon or habagat is still the main weather system affecting the country, particularly parts of Luzon. A large part of the western section of Luzon has been affected by the cloudiness brought by the southwest monsoon,’ Pagasa weather specialist Obet Badrina reported

The Human Organ Preservation Effort of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (HOPE-NKTI) is encouraging the public to become organ donors for the more than 500 individuals in the country currently in need of a transplant.

According to Dr. Anthony Russel Villanueva, head of HOPE-NKTI, the average number of deceased organ donors in the hospital is ‘not increasing,’ with only around 10 to 12 per year.

On the other hand, he said, there are now more than 500 patients in need of an organ transplant, based on the NKTI data from 2025.

Villanueva also reported that there were 64,000 new dialysis patients in the country in 2024.

The number of dialysis patients tend to increase by around 10 percent to 15 percent each year, with most of them qualifying for a kidney transplant, he added.

Culture factor

‘The demand is high but the number of our organ donors is low, so we really need the help of everyone for advocacy. So that it would be in our culture to donate,’ Villanueva told reporters on Friday.

‘In other countries, it’s a great honor for them to donate. When you become an organ donor, you are a hero to the community. Hopefully we can have that same mindset,’ he added.

To become an organ donor, the public can sign up by scanning the QR code that can be accessed through the HOPE-NKTI’s official Facebook page.

Villanueva explained that HOPE-NKTI deals with deceased organ donations, which involves patients who have already been declared as ‘brain dead.’ Aside from organs, he said, bones and tissues, including corneas, can also be donated to help not just those with illnesses but also persons with disabilities.

One challenge

But before any organ can be donated, consent must be secured first from the family of the potential donor, he stressed, adding:

‘By our experience, even if it’s in your license that you are an organ donor, we still need the consent of the legal next of kin.’

Villanueva acknowledged that obtaining such consent can be challenging. ‘Because we are (usually) an extended family, sometimes a sibling has already agreed but they want to wait for their sister’s or mother’s [agreement].’

‘When it takes time, that is a challenge because of the viability of the organ. From brain death, there will come a time where the heart stops, and by then [the organ] is no longer viable for donation,’ he explained.

To prevent this problem, Villanueva urged those who are planning to become organ donors to speak with their family regarding their decision.

‘They are really the ones who decide. Maybe you consented in your personal [capacity], but of course, the family’s [consent] is still needed,’ he said.

Floods and landslides triggered by monsoon rains and enhanced by four weather disturbances so far this month have left more than 30 people dead, mostly in Luzon, authorities said.

Nine Aetas in Zambales and Pampanga and two workers at Subic Bay Freeport were among the latest fatalities confirmed on Saturday.

A lahar warning was also issued on Saturday for communities in Pampanga, where the devastation of the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption remains indelible in local memory. This time, however, the threat of ‘noneruption lahar’ is not due to volcanic activity but to heavy rains letting deposits of pyroclastic material loose on local rivers.

A section of the decades-old Aquino Bridge in Tarlac province collapsed Friday night. Public works officials traced the cause of the structural damage to the strong currents of Tarlac River.

This month alone saw four tropical cyclones entering the Philippine area of responsibility, with the latest, Typhoon Obet,(international name: Saudel), being the 15th for the year.

In August 2025, the country by then had experienced only the ninth cyclone of the year, Isang (Kajiki). Benguet landslides

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on Saturday placed the death toll due to weather-induced calamities at 32, starting the count from ‘Luis’ (Peilou) which made landfall on Aug. 3. After Luis was ‘Maymay’ (Kujiri) on Aug. 5 and ‘Neneng’ (Gaenari) on Aug. 18 but no landfall and ‘Obet’ on Aug 24, also no landfall.

At least 8 million people, or 2.3 million families, have been affected across 10 regions, the OCD said.

Among provinces, Benguet recorded the highest number of deaths with 15, all from landslides. Ten of them were in Baguio City, three in Atok town and two in La Trinidad.

Four deaths were recorded in Rizal province, with two of them due to a rockslide in Rodriguez town. One person was pinned to death by a fallen tree in Antipolo, while another drowned in Binangonan.

Batangas province recorded four deaths: one drowned in Batangas City and another in Mabini, one was electrocuted in Lipa, and another was killed in a landslide in Santa Teresita.

The other fatalities were recorded in the provinces of La Union, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, and Negros Occidental, and in Caloocan City.

At least 19 people have been injured, including 12 in Benguet province.

Three people remained missing: one each in Quezon City, Manila and Batangas City.

Infra, agri damage

The affected regions as of Saturday were Regions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 9, as well as the Cordillera Administrative Region, Calabarzon, the National Capital Region and Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan).

Some 25,800 people from 7,500 families were staying in 297 evacuation centers.

The OCD said about 2,900 houses had been damaged, including 349 classified as totally damaged.

Damage to infrastructure was estimated at P6.11 billion, while agricultural losses were placed at P2.32 billion.

At least 117 local government units have declared a state of calamity, with the government releasing P1.65 billion worth of relief assistance, the OCD added.

Communities along the river systems draining Mt. Pinatubo were placed on heightened alert around 11 a.m. on Saturday, after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) warned that heavy rains could generate noneruption lahars.

Aeta passengers

Major rivers on the western side of Mt. Pinatubo still hold significant deposits from the volcano’s 1991 pyroclastic density currents, mainly mixtures of ash and rock fragments.

The potential lahar flow is likely to be confined to the upper to middle reaches of the Sto. Tomas-Marella and Bucao river systems, but could turn into muddy streamflows and flooding downstream, affecting communities in San Marcelino, San Narciso, San Felipe and Botolan.

They are among the river systems covered by a government dredging project that has been going on for the last six years.

Nine members of Aeta communities, including five children, have died in two separate incidents in Zambales and Pampanga.

In Zambales, recovered on Saturday were the bodies of two children, age 3 and 8, who went missing after a boat carrying 13 Aeta passengers capsized on Wednesday in Mapanuepe Lake in San Marcelino town.

The search was still ongoing at press time for the last missing passenger, a 26-year-old pregnant woman.

In Pampanga, a 73-year-old Aeta man died in a landslide at Barangay Pidpid in Porac town on Friday, according to Vice Gov. Dennis Pineda.

The landslide occurred about 20 kilometers south of Mt. Pinatubo amid persistent rains.

Pineda said at least 30 Aeta families had been relocated to the Pio evacuation center near the Porac town proper as a precaution.

Subic incident

At the Subic Bay Freeport, two people died and two others were injured after being buried in a landslide at Tipo High-Tech Park on Saturday.

Initial reports from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Law Enforcement Department identified the dead as Peng Jiahan, 26, a Chinese national and a sales and marketing supervisor at Fubong Environmental Technology; and Ernesto Ramos, a Filipino dump truck driver.

Details regarding the two injured victims were still being verified as of press time.

Earlier, the SBMA reported that a ‘soil erosion incident’ occurred at Tipo due to nonstop heavy rains

Four people were missing and another was rescued after a sport utility vehicle (SUV) plunged into a river when the Agana Bridge in Tarlac City collapsed Saturday night, Aug. 29, authorities said.

Nathaniel Dion, 20, was rescued shortly after the incident as authorities launched a search for the four other passengers.

The missing passengers were identified as Shanen Tuhao, 26; Paul Harvey Collado, 30, the SUV owner; James Harvey Taborlupa, 35; and Shiel Mae Taborlupa.

The Agana Bridge had been serving as an alternative route after the middle portion of the Aquino Bridge in Tarlac City collapsed shortly before midnight Friday, Aug. 28, amid heavy rains brought by the southwest monsoon.

Authorities continued search and rescue operations for the missing passengers as heavy rains persisted in the province.