Palace exec: Gov't not slow vs floods

Malacañang on Wednesday said the government was not slow when it came to flood control, as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is only responding to decades of institutional neglect.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said Marcos could feel the people’s anger when it came to corruption in the government, especially in the flood control scam. He wanted the people to know that the government was active and responsive.

“Hindi po mabagal ang pamahalaan. Marami lang po talagang dapat na ayusin na sinasabi rin po ng mga eksperto na hindi inayos ng ilang dekada. Hindi isang dekada. Hindi dalawang dekada. Halos apat na dekadang naiwan kay Pangulo ang inaayos ngayon,” Castro said during a press briefing.

(The government is not slow. There is just a lot that needs to be fixed that even experts say have not been fixed in decades. Not one decade. Not two decades. But almost four decades of neglect has been left to the President that he is fixing now.)

Castro said Marcos is going through these projects one by one.

The Palace official emphasized that even on break days, the agencies were acting under Marcos’ orders. Marcos has told government agencies to be better prepared for the effects of climate change.

The Marcos administration is currently working to update the flood mitigation plans of 18 major river basins across the country.

As of May, the Department of Public Works and Highways already has 16 out of the 18 master plans and feasibility studies for the river basins. —RF, GMA News