CEBU’S business and civic leaders have announced a new community-driven initiative to tackle the city’s worsening urban flooding.
In a press briefing on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, the Cebu Citizens Initiative (CCI) and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) revealed plans for a city-wide summit designed to unite government, private organizations, and residents in building a more flood-resilient Cebu. The campaign will officially launch at a summit at the Cebu Coliseum on Saturday, Sept. 27.
WHY A CITIZEN-LED PUSH. The initiative comes in response to the growing challenges posed by heavy rains and persistent flooding, a long-standing problem that disrupts daily life and economic activity in Metro Cebu. By spearheading the campaign, the business and civic sectors are signaling a need for a more unified and urgent approach.
CCCI president Jay Yuvallos said the campaign aims to call on the government to fulfill its role while also empowering residents to take action themselves. “Let this be the beginning of not just self leadership, but also taking responsibility,” Yuvallos said.
THE STRATEGY. The Flood-Free Cebu initiative is built on a multi-pronged approach that goes beyond simply demanding government action. The plan focuses on four key areas: identifying the root causes of flooding, mobilizing community participation, improving non-infrastructure-based solutions and addressing the specific needs of different communities.
A central element is public education, with discussions planned to be data-driven and science-based to ensure residents are fully informed. To support this, organizers have invited experts from Singapore to share insights on drainage master planning. In a creative push to engage the public, CCCI’s Bryan Yap announced a digital campaign to create relatable visual content about flooding, aiming to collect 2,000 content pieces by December to help “change the mindset of people.”
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW YET. While the initiative marks a significant step, several questions remain unanswered. It is not yet clear whether top local officials, including Gov. Pamela Baricuatro and Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival, will attend the summit and commit to specific actions, as they have only been invited to share their insights. It is also uncertain how this citizen-led movement will translate into concrete government policy, funding, and infrastructure projects. The long-term sustainability of the campaign and its ability to maintain momentum beyond the initial summit also remains to be seen.
WHAT’S NEXT. The immediate next step is the official launch of the Flood-Free Cebu summit, where an estimated 3,000 participants are expected. Following the event, the focus will shift to implementing the strategies discussed and rolling out the digital content campaign, which aims to gather a large collection of visual stories by the end of the year. The success of these next steps will determine if the initiative can evolve from a call to action into a sustained force for change in Cebu’s battle against flooding. / DPC