The Cebu City Flood and Drainage Council report states that 96 percent of public funds are spent on administrative costs and reactive repairs, with only four percent allocated to preventive measures.
Field inspections by the Council and "River Troopers" uncovered thousands of illegal structures encroaching on waterways, contradicting the 56 official violation notices issued by the city since 2022.
Cebu’s government faces a choice between creating a new Metro Cebu Watershed Authority or reactivating the dormant Provincial Water Resource Authority to manage water systems and implement long-term scientific recommendations.
METRO Cebu is drowning in floods and facing severe water shortages, but a new report reveals the real culprit isn't a lack of engineering solutions. Decades of fragmented government coordination have left critical watershed studies sitting on shelves while communities pay the price. Now, local leaders are pushing for urgent management reforms to fix Cebu’s water crisis before the next major storm hits.
According to a report by the Cebu City Flood and Drainage Council (FDC) titled "From Watershed to City," Cebu has accumulated plenty of engineering studies and master plans over the past century. This includes extensive plans prepared with help from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).
The problem is that many of these recommendations have never been put into action.
"The challenge is no longer producing more technical studies," said FDC vice chairman Atty. Anastacio T. Muntuerto Jr. "It is implementing existing scientific recommendations through coordinated governance and sustained environmental stewardship."
Currently, responsibilities for Cebu’s watersheds are scattered across multiple national agencies and local government units (LGUs). Because these groups operate under separate budgets and goals, long-term environmental planning often takes a backseat to short-term political priorities.
As rapid urban development and changing land use reduce the soil's ability to absorb rainwater, flooding has become faster and more severe.
The FDC report highlights a troubling trend in how public funds are used: 96 percent of resources are spent on salaries, administration, and emergency repairs after floods occur and only four percent goes toward preventive measures like protecting upland forests and conserving watersheds.
"This approach addresses flooding only after water reaches urban areas instead of protecting the upland ecosystems where runoff begins," the report pointed out.
Because downstream flood-control projects are constantly undermined by unregulated building and clearing of trees in the mountains, Cebu’s flood defenses continue to fail.
To see the damage firsthand, the FDC conducted drone surveys and walked the riverbanks with volunteer River Troopers. They discovered a massive gap between official records and reality:
Official Records: The Cebu City Office of the Building Official has issued only 56 notices of violation for river easement encroachments since 2022.
The Reality: Field inspections revealed thousands of structures illegally built right next to or over the waterways.
In addition to these encroachments, inspectors found rivers severely clogged by garbage and dirt, while a loss of trees in the mountains has accelerated stormwater runoff down Cebu's slopes.
To bridge these gaps, the FDC recommends establishing a permanent Metro Cebu Watershed Authority or Council. This body would manage the environment across city borders, ensuring projects continue even when local political administrations change.
The council has proposed a "Seven Es Framework" (Education, Empathy, Engineering, Enforcement, Economy, Engagement, and Exemplars) to guide Cebu's recovery.
Active projects under this vision include: the Lahug Watershed Learning Model: An educational program focused on protecting the river system and the Mango'Bano Initiative: A campaign to plant 60,000 mango trees to stop soil erosion and help the ground absorb more water.
While the FDC wants to create a new council, the Cebu Provincial Government is pursuing a different route. They want to reactivate the dormant Provincial Water Resource Authority (PWRA), which already exists under the province's legal framework.
Elizar Sabinay, an official with the Provincial Planning and Development Office, believes this is a much more practical choice.
"If we create a Watershed Council, it would be redundant. The goal now is just to reactivate the PWRA," Sabinay explained, noting that Cebu's comprehensive Water Code and its implementing rules are already written.
Originally set up under former governor Hilario Davide III, the PWRA became inactive under the next administration. Once revived, it would oversee bulk water distribution, groundwater and surface water development, and coordinate the water systems shared by different towns.
Reactivating the PWRA is also expected to open doors for major investments. Sabinay noted that the province needs big-ticket projects, like multi-billion-peso surface water dams proposed in a 2015 Jica study. One of these dams alone could cost more than P7 billion—equal to more than half of the province's entire annual budget.
With Pagasa warning that the current El Niño is expected to intensify in the later part of 2026 and persist into early 2027—bringing prolonged dry spells and drought—the need for water security has never been more urgent.
Whether Cebu’s leaders choose to build a new watershed council or revive the PWRA, both sides agree on one central truth: Cebu already has the science and the blueprints to save itself. The real challenge now is finding the political will to turn these paper plans into real-world action before the next round of severe weather takes an even greater toll on families and local businesses. With CDF