WHY do billion-peso flood control projects repeatedly fail to prevent catastrophic damage in Metro Cebu? The tension lies in a dangerous disconnect: massive infrastructure spending in the lowlands is rendered useless by widespread environmental destruction in the uplands.
The recent devastation highlights a critical paradox: engineers are spending vast sums to manage a symptom (raging floodwaters) while ignoring the root cause (deforestation and land-use changes that create the floodwaters in the first place). The problem, experts argue, isn’t about the volume of water, but its speed, turning heavy rain into flash floods.
The debate over flood control efficacy was reignited following typhoon Tino, which brought severe flooding to key cities and towns across Metro Cebu earlier this month. The flooding submerged mountain barangays and heavily affected areas along the Mananga River in Talisay City, despite years of infrastructure work.
The core news is the fact that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has spent a whopping P10.6 billion on 131 flood control projects between 2016 and 2025 across Cebu’s major river systems (Mananga, Butuanon, Cotcot, and Lusaran). Environmental experts have now publicly labeled this spending as a failure and a mere “band-aid” solution.
The continuum of disaster
The catastrophic flooding in Cebu is not an isolated weather event but the result of a dangerous “continuum” where environmental degradation upstream directly triggers disaster downstream.
This crisis fits into a broader national trend where rapid urbanization and economic development often take precedence over environmental protection and sound land-use planning. Cebu’s steep slopes, when cleared of forests, lose their natural “sponge areas.” This forces water to rush swiftly into the lowlands, amplifying its velocity—a phenomenon where “speed kills,” according to William Granert, executive director of the Soil and Water Conservation Foundation Inc. (SCWCFI).
Historical and policy failures compound the issue. Critical legal setbacks designed to protect river edges—ranging from three to 40 meters—are routinely ignored, allowing structures to occupy floodplains.
Why flooding crisis matters
The failure of these projects affects ordinary people, businesses, and public safety in three concrete ways:
Risk to Life and Property: The swift, uncontrolled water from the uplands causes severe property damage and loss of life, turning every heavy rain into a potential disaster.
Wasted Public Funds: P10.6 billion has been spent on projects that, by expert assessment, are only providing temporary fixes. This money is not delivering long-term, sustainable protection.
Threat to Critical Infrastructure: The contract descriptions of major projects often explicitly state they are for “FLOOD MITIGATION STRUCTURES PROTECTING MAJOR/STRATEGIC PUBLIC BUILDINGS/FACILITIES,” such as revetment walls funded under the Convergence and Special Support Program (CSSP). When the entire system fails, these strategic public assets remain vulnerable.
Delays plague major flood control projects
While billions of pesos were allocated for flood control, the projects meant to protect these key areas are struggling with implementation and delays, even as severe flooding continues.
Butuanon River (Barangay Pulang Bato): The largest contract for the Butuanon River project, valued at P144.6 million, was awarded to BNR Construction and Development Corp. Located in Barangay Pulangbato, one of the mountain areas submerged during typhoon Tino, the project is significantly behind schedule, currently only 70.74 percent complete against its contractual target of Dec. 19, 2024.
Mananga River: QM Builders was awarded P144.7 million for a flood control project in the upstream of the river but is still 36.18 percent complete when it is scheduled for completion by January 2026.
Cotcot River (Liloan): The highest sole contract for the Cotcot River’s Phase 2 project (P154.3 million) was secured by VSP Structure Ventures Corp. This project is also highly delayed, showing only 39.22 percent completion despite having an April 11, 2026, target finish date.
Lusaran River (Barangay Tagbao): The Lusaran River had only one project awarded between 2016 and 2025. The P43.4 million contract, awarded to Boometrix Development Corp., is another instance of delay; scheduled for completion by Nov. 27, 2025, it is currently just 34.5 percent complete.
The pattern of project delays across these critical river systems compounds the problem, leaving communities like Pulangbato vulnerable even after catastrophic events like typhoon Tino.
The conflict of values
The heart of the problem, according to Granert, is a fundamental “change in values” that prioritizes short-term economic gain over environmental protection.
The Environmentalist View: “If you start fooling with that and if you change the river from its natural course, you are asking for trouble.” Granert insists that infrastructure fixes like widening rivers, desilting, and drainage improvements are temporary. Without addressing the root causes—deforestation, siltation, poor zoning, and upstream land conversion—the flooding will persist. He even described the management of the Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL) as a “giant real estate deal.”
The Development/Engineering View (DPWH Spending): The sheer scale of the DPWH investment suggests a belief that large-scale civil engineering—the construction of revetment walls, dikes, and channelization—is the necessary and proper response to flood management. This approach focuses on containing the water once it reaches the lowlands.
What happened to the water
The upland watersheds, stripped of forest cover, lost their natural ability to absorb and slow down rainwater, Granert explained. Consequently, massive volumes of water travel quickly down Cebu’s steep slopes. In the lowlands, this problem is made worse by human interference: housing developments occupying floodplains, engineers sometimes changing the natural river course (like in Cotcot, Liloan), and widespread garbage clogging drainage systems, forcing water to flow over the surface like “sand paper,” carrying destructive soil and rocks.
Why the flood control projects fail
The DPWH projects are largely focused on defensive construction, such as revetment walls and flood control structures, many of which are specifically aimed at protecting public buildings and facilities.
The Quirante family’s companies, QM Builders and Quirante Construction, secured the largest share of contracts (P4.73 billion) for 47 projects along the four river systems. Many of these projects, like the P148.5 million revetment walls in Sitio Bogo, Talisay City, were severely affected by typhoon Tino. The problem is that these engineered defenses are overwhelmed by the sheer velocity and volume of water that the deforested uplands cannot contain.
The larger issues
This is a governance issue driven by a lack of an “environmental ethic.” Land-use policies, zoning, and enforcement are failing to protect critical river easements and the Central Cebu Protected Landscape. The current system allows economic interests (subdivisions, land sales) to undermine the environment, ultimately leading to higher costs in disaster response and recovery.
What comes next
For flood control to succeed, a fundamental shift from lowland-focused engineering to upstream environmental restoration is required.
Future efforts must include adopting an “environmental ethic” and moving away from monoculture reforestation toward planting 20 to 30 native tree species per hectare (mixing deep-rooted and shallow-rooted varieties) to restore the natural sponge function of the uplands.
Crucially, experts propose establishing a stable funding source to pay legitimate upland residents a monthly stipend to act as de facto “resource managers” to protect steep slopes. Finally, an effective Early Warning System is needed to transmit real-time heavy rain data from the mountains to lowland disaster management teams.
The debate moves forward with the understanding that no amount of construction will ultimately succeed until the forests and land-use issues upstream are fixed. / with EHP