Public Works exec wants revival of Pampanga Delta project

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- A Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official said the National Government should consider the revival of the Pampanga Delta Development Program’s (PDDP) Phase II project to mitigate the flooding problem in the region.

DPWH-Central Luzon Director Antonio Molano said billions spent on PDDP’s Phase I would be totally useless and would not decrease the effects of flooding particularly in the coastal towns if the project’s second phase would not be revived.

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"Kailangang pag-aralan mabuti ng pamahalaan upang matuloy na ang Pampanga Delta Phase II. Hindi kasi natin makikita ang bungay ng naunang project kung hindi ito itutuloy," Molano said.

PDDP is a segmented flood control project, in which Phase I channeled excavation and dikes in the Pampanga River and the Labangan Floodway for the lower Pampanga Delta.

Phase II, meanwhile, aims to develop an irrigation system for agricultural crops and fisheries for 11,000 hectares on the right bank of the river, downstream from Arayat.

The P8.8-billion PDDP Phase II would help reduce flood damages in Central Luzon, which was hit with 367 millimeters of rainfall in only four days during Typhoon “Pedring”, equivalent to two months of rain the region would have received.

The Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) earlier proposed to President Benigno Aquino III the fast-tracking of other flood mitigation projects in Central Luzon, such as the Tarlac River Overall Improvement Works, Western River Basin Flood Control Project, and the Dinalupihan-Hermosa-Lubao Flood Control Project.

RDCC is also advocating for the construction of the P29.2-billion Central Luzon Link Expressway, which will ensure access to and from Nueva Ecija, Aurora, and the Northern Luzon regions during the closure of the Tarlac-Sta. Rosa road due to floods.