254 flood control projects in Quezon City without COC 

by Almira Louise S. Martinez, Reporter

The Quezon City (QC) government said that 254 flood control projects implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) did not acquire a Certificate of Coordination (COC) from the mayor’s office before construction.

“They need to coordinate and present every project to us so we can work with them to improve it, and that COC is equivalent to a building permit,” QC Mayor Josefina “Joy” G. Belmonte told BusinessWorld in an interview on Thursday.

Although the city’s ordinance has worked well with vertical projects, flood control projects have not applied for COC and were not coordinated. “That’s why I do not know about the flood control projects,” said Ms. Belmonte.

“As a mayor, I always think we have a law and they will respect it because they are part of the government, but they did not follow it when it comes to flood control,” she added.

In 2022, the QC government implemented an ordinance that requires every government-funded project to coordinate with the city’s infrastructure committee prior to construction.

“It’s important that if there’s a project from the national government in our city, it aligns with the city’s plans,” Ms. Belmonte said. “If we’re not aware of the projects, there’s the threat of wasting public funds, duplication or overlapping, and it may also be inconsistent with the city’s plans.”

The city’s mayor noted that the Matalahib Creek pumping station, built over a creek, was among the projects that violated the city’s ordinance and Water Code.

“We wrote letters to them to halt the project and discuss first if it’s right to continue, but they did not stop and continued it,” she said. “Now it caused much more flooding to its surrounding barangays.”

“If there were more coordination with us… We could’ve worked together to come up with a better flood control solution,” she added.

The P350-million Matalahib Creek pumping station project in Barangay Talayan is being petitioned by the QC government to be terminated immediately.

“I’m pushing to terminate it since it’s still in phase one, and they are blocking the creek,” the city’s mayor said. “Demolish what was built on the creek, and the remaining P250 million let us implement a different intervention for flood control.”

Outdated flood control projects

The flood control projects by the DPWH are undersized and outdated, according to an urban planner and veteran architect, Felino A. Palafox, Jr.

“It’s outdated. 75% are undersized,” Mr. Palafox told reporters on Wednesday. “Because it’s 25-year return, the 100-year typhoons are now happening every year.”

“They are not designed for a 100-year return of flooding in typhoons,” he added.

The veteran architect said that the government must review its existing flood control design to improve efficiency. “They need to revisit the solutions established in the mid-70s and continuously upgrade them.”

Mr. Palafox noted that he also gave 150 recommendations to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to help improve the flood control and urban planning in Metro Manila, but they were ignored.

“From Marcos Sr. to Digong, I was invited to Malacañang. This one, never,” he said. “I even write to him every week and texted him one time, ‘Corruption is worse now because there’s no more factor of fear’.”

Mr. Marcos stated in a press release earlier this month that flood control projects nationwide have cost P545 billion in public funds since July 2022. Of these projects, around 20% or P100 billion, went to only 15 contractors.

“Out of those 15 contractors, five have contracts covering the entire Philippines,” he said in Filipino.