MANILA (LiCAS News): The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines [CEAP] questioned government flood-control spending after deadly monsoon rains inundated Metro Manila and other regions. The group said extreme weather exposed failures in planning, construction, and accountability, adding that rainfall alone did not explain why flooding repeatedly disrupted communities.
“Of course, we can, and should say that 200mm in five hours is an extraordinary volume of water. But perhaps the more uncomfortable question is: why does every extraordinary rain still expose so many ordinary failures?” CEAP said in a social media post on August 18.
Metro Manila received 201.7 millimetres of rain in five hours on August 17, while Quezon City recorded over 200 millimetres in six hours, according to CEAP. The heavy rains flooded parts of the capital and prompted the President’s office to order alternative work arrangements for government offices in Metro Manila and 12 provinces. Schools in affected areas were directed to shift to alternative learning arrangements.
CEAP said recurring flooding exposed weaknesses in drainage, land use, and waste management. “We have drainage systems that clog, waterways that narrow, wetlands that disappear, garbage that travels faster than our waste-management programmes, communities that continue to build in vulnerable areas, and citizens who sometimes treat the street as an extension of the household trash bin,” the group said.
It also raised questions about public funds spent on flood-control infrastructure. “The country has poured enormous public resources into keeping Filipinos above water, yet some projects have become so questionable that the projects themselves now need rescuing,” CEAP said.
The association cited audit findings of flood-control structures missing at approved locations, including over 275 million pesos in anomalous projects in Bulacan province.
Earlier reports of hundreds of alleged ghost projects and renewed scrutiny of a 107 billion peso flood control budget were also mentioned, as Metro Manila again experienced severe flooding.
We have drainage systems that clog, waterways that narrow, wetlands that disappear, garbage that travels faster than our waste-management programmes, communities that continue to build in vulnerable areas, and citizens who sometimes treat the street as an extension of the household trash bin
Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines
“This is where satire becomes almost unnecessary: perhaps the Philippines does not have a flood-control problem alone; perhaps we have a control problem,” CEAP said.
The group said accountability should extend to public spending, planning, construction quality, land use, waste disposal, permits, and maintenance. Citizens also shared responsibility for practices that worsen flooding, especially improper waste disposal.
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The southwest monsoon continued to affect Luzon and parts of the Visayas on August 18, with forecasts of up to 200 millimetres of rain in some provinces and 100 millimetres in Metro Manila.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council confirmed 23 deaths, 17 injuries, and one person missing.
Nearly five million people, or 1.43 million families, were affected across 10 regions.
CEAP ended its post by asking: “When the next great rain comes, will we discover that the water rose—or that our standards fell?”
