President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged local government units and the public on Wednesday to implement proper waste management and clean both the canals and waterways for flood control projects to work.

In his speech during the inauguration of the Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Project Stage 1 (IDRR-CCA 1), in Masantol, Pampanga, Marcos said the country has been experiencing more floods on the back of climate change and overpopulation.

The Chief Executive stressed that effective projects, designed to reduce flood heights and shorten the duration of flood events, require a collective effort.

“With climate change and with the effects — increasing overpopulation — we expect that we will experience more and more of these historic flooding events. For flood control to work, we must do our part in maintaining our canals and waterways, and in recycling and properly disposing of our garbage,” Marcos said.

He emphasized that the government is committed to pursuing initiatives and programs aimed at protecting citizens and the environment, innovating current trends in disaster risk reduction, and ensuring heightened climate responsibility and justice.

Marcos also pointed out the crucial role of local government units (LGUs) and citizens in managing flood risks. He called on communities to actively participate in flood management efforts to complement government initiatives.

“Rest assured this government is working and doing all it can to pursue initiatives and programs to protect our citizens and the environment, to innovate [on] current trends in disaster risk reduction and management, as well as to ensure heightened climate responsibility and justice,” he said.

“Our local government units and our citizens have an extremely important role to play,” he added.

The DPWH-UPMO Flood Control Management Cluster is working on an infrastructure project designed to safeguard Pampanga’s low-lying regions, including Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin, Sto. Tomas and Apalit.

Once fully operational, the IDRR-CCA 1 project, which has a budget exceeding P7 billion, is expected to cut the flood levels and duration in these municipalities from 68 days to 17 days.

Additionally, the project aims to improve drainage systems in major river channels such as the Third River, Eastern Branch River, Caduang Tete and Sapang Maragul.

This initiative is part of a larger effort by the Climate Change Commission, which has been actively involved in climate adaptation research and community engagement in Central Luzon (Region III).

To ensure the project’s full impact and provide enduring flood solutions for Pampanga, Marcos has directed the DPWH to keep Stage 2 of the IDRR-CCA on track.

Marcos also expressed gratitude to South Korea for their support in the project’s first stage and for confirming that planning and technical assessments for IDRR-CCA 2 are underway.