Duterte approves flood mitigation plans for Cagayan, Marikina

President Rodrigo Duterte and his Cabinet approved the flood mitigation measures for Cagayan province and Marikina City, Malacañang said Wednesday.

Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque said the plans, which were prepared by the Build Back Better Task Force headed by Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, include the following goals:

• to mobilize and sustain deployment of government assets (Armed Forces of the Philippines and Department of Public Works and Highways) for the widening of the Magapit Narrows and removal of 19 sandbars in Cagayan River;
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• to restore the Marikina River to its original state by the removal of illegal structures; and
• to fast-track the proposed DPWH flood mitigation projects including Upper Marikina Dam and the Parañaque Spillway.

The task force also plans to accomplish the following:

• the rehabilitation of existing flood gates and pumping stations, and construction of seven flood control projects along Bicol River;
• the implementation of a whole-of-society approach in the anti-illegal logging campaign in Sierra Madre, Cordillera, Caraballo Mountain, and the Marikina River Basin with the active participation of the local government units;
• the improvement of the management of protected areas in Sierra Madre, Cordillera, Marikina, and Bicol River Basins; and
• the certification as urgent by the President the bill seeking to create the Environmental Protection and Enforcement Bureau under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Cagayan and Marikina suffered widespread flooding following the onslaught of typhoons last month.

The President later created the task force to ensure whole-of-government implementation and monitoring of post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation efforts.

The inter-agency body must also strengthen the institutional knowledge and expertise of the local government units on disaster recovery and rehabilitation and build safer sites for housing as well as restore or expand economic activities in typhoon-hit areas.

The task force was mandated to give a quarterly report to the Office of the President, and publish an annual report on its accomplishments, including projects and programs implemented and budget utilized.—AOL/BM, GMA News