Posted on September 24, 2026
MANILA, Philippines — Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon on Wednesday called for immediate and sustained dredging of major waterways and the installation of temporary flood barriers to ease persistent flooding in the towns of Macabebe and Masantol in Pampanga.
Dizon said long-term flood-control projects would take too long to address the immediate problems facing communities that remain inundated for much of the year.
“We need to find immediate solutions for this,” Dizon said.
He noted that detention basins and other flood-control measures being considered in other areas may not be suitable for Macabebe and Masantol because the communities were already in low-lying areas that experience prolonged flooding.
Dizon said he had discussed the situation with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. while traveling to the area and that the president agreed that the government could not simply accept the flooding as an unsolvable problem.
He said one immediate measure was the dredging of the Pampanga River and other waterways to improve water flow and drainage.
Dizon said the government had identified three waterways for immediate dredging — the Pampanga River, the Cut-off Channel and the San Esteban waterway.
Regular dredging should be undertaken instead of one-time operations that lasted only a few months, he said.
Dizon said would again seek assistance from the private sector and the provincial government to provide the equipment and other resources needed.
He rejected road-raising as a stand-alone solution to flooding, saying elevating roads without addressing the movement and management of floodwaters could simply redirect water toward residential communities.
As a second immediate measure, Dizon said flood barriers or temporary flood walls should be strategically installed in areas vulnerable to overflowing waterways.
He cited temporary flood barriers already used in other locations and said similar measures could be deployed along portions of the MacArthur Highway that remained flooded even days after heavy rains.
The possible use of an earth dike in the area as both flood protection and an emergency road for communities in Macabebe, Masantol and nearby towns has also been considered, according to Dizon.
Local officials said an earth dike project could provide additional protection against flooding while giving residents an alternative emergency route, particularly when existing roads become impassable.
Dizon told The Manila Times that the government would continue working with local officials and engineers to identify measures that could reduce the duration and severity of flooding in the affected communities.
