CANDABA -- Representative Juan Pablo Bondoc recently expressed opposition over the proposed flood mitigation project of the Governor Lilia Pineda and the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Bondoc said that the retarding basin is not ideal both for the municipalities and residents that will be affected.
"That is not the only solution. There are many studies conducted showing other ways to mitigate flood without sacrificing the lives of residents and the municipalities of Candaba and San Luis," Bondoc said.
"We are 100 percent against the plan to make Candaba and San Luis towns as catchment basin," he added.
According to Bondoc, the lives and interest of the people, especially those of old age, must be considered.
"We must try to acknowledge other studies and not focused on a single plan," he said.
The proposed construction of a retarding basin is based from the study conducted by the World Bank and consultants from the University of the
Philippines designed to control and mitigate floodwater from the river and save other towns in Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Bulacan.
The DPWH said they will need some 20,000 hectares of land at the swamps of Candaba and San Antonio town in Nueva Ecija to solve the perennial flooding in Pampanga.