The price of flood control failure
Manila Bulletin
|July 23 2025
Once again, the rains have come—and once again, our cities, towns, and provinces are submerged in flood. The latest floodings triggered by the southwest monsoon or “habagat” have laid bare not just our vulnerability to nature, but our failure to prepare for it.
-
The calamity is no longer simply a natural disaster, but the cumulative result of decades of mismanagement and underinvestment. This is further aggravated by climate change.
Each monsoon season follows the same tragic script: families evacuated, lives lost, roads rendered impassable, homes destroyed. The difference lies not in the severity of the floods, but in the silence that follows the deluge. It is a silence that must now be broken.
Year after year, flood control and disaster risk reduction programs are allotted billions of pesos from the national budget. And yet, the same communities get flooded in the same way, often with worse consequences. True, climate change is a contributing factor in overwhelming whatever efforts the government has taken. But the troubling question is: Was the budget fully utilized for flood mitigation?
Denne historien er fra July 23 2025-utgaven av Manila Bulletin.
Abonner på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av kuraterte premiumhistorier og over 9000 magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
FLERE HISTORIER FRA Manila Bulletin
Manila Bulletin
Pope blasts 'irrationality' of military deterrence in first annual peace message
Pope Leo XIV insisted Thursday that peace was not only possible but necessary, as he blasted the \"irrationality\" of nuclear deterrence and the weaponization of faith in modern political discourse.
2 mins
December 20, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Marcos to forego holidays; will scrutinize 2026 budget
Despite the limited time, Malacañang said President Marcos will thoroughly review the 2026 national budget.
1 min
December 20, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Apink’s Bomi to marry music producer
K-pop girl group Apink member Bomi announced that she is getting married to her longtime boyfriend after nine years of being together.
2 mins
December 20, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Eala savors tennis triumph
Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala took pride in singing the national anthem while standing on the podium after finally winning a gold medal for Team Philippines in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games on Thursday, Dec. 18.
1 min
December 20, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Yuchengco firm buys out partner
Yuchengco-led PetroEnergy Resources Corp. is moving toward near-total control of its wind business by raising its stake in PetroWind Energy Inc. to 90 percent.
1 min
December 20, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Universal Social Pension: Helping senior citizens age with dignity
In Filipino culture, caring for elders is not merely a social obligation—it is a moral one.
2 mins
December 20, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Quezon town urges repair of deep potholes in major intersection
This town has urged the immediate repair of an intersection here pockmarked with potholes that has been compared to craters in the Moon.
1 min
December 20, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Mindanao not a terror hotspot – MinDA chair
Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chairman Secretary Leo Magno has debunked sweeping claims labeling Mindanao anew as terrorism hotspot amid reports that the father-and-son duo behind the Bondi Beach shooting rampage in Sydney, Australia briefly stayed here last November.
2 mins
December 20, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Rabin Angeles, Angela Muji rate their level of friendship
Rabin Angeles and Angela Muji eagerly discussed their preparations for their much-awaited first movie together, \"A Werewolf Boy,\" scheduled for release on Jan. 14, 2026.
3 mins
December 20, 2025
Manila Bulletin
Without Mother Mary, there's no Christmas
On the fourth and last Sunday of Advent, we ponder the mystery of Christ's incarnation (becoming human).
2 mins
December 20, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size

