How law can help with floods

The devastating floods inundating Metro Manila and large parts of Luzon this week are more than just a seasonal occurrence — they are a symptom of deeper systemic failures in governance, planning, and accountability.

As images of submerged highways and displaced families dominate the news cycle, one truth becomes increasingly clear: the legal community must play a more active role in flood prevention, not just post-disaster response.

At the heart of this crisis is the failure to enforce and uphold environmental and urban planning laws. Despite a robust legal framework — the Clean Water Act, Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, and the Urban Development and Housing Act — violations remain rampant.

Informal settlements continue to grow along waterways, developers reclaim flood plains, and garbage chokes drainage systems. Legal professionals can intervene by initiating suits against violators, pushing for stricter permitting processes and holding both public officials and private actors accountable for noncompliance. Public interest litigation can force agencies to do what they are mandated to do: protect lives and ecosystems.

But litigation alone is not enough. Lawyers and legal institutions must also guide policymaking and regulatory reform. Zoning laws need to be updated to reflect climate realities.

Environmental compliance certificates must go beyond box-ticking exercises and incorporate serious climate risk assessments. The judiciary, for its part, can interpret laws with a climate-responsive lens, ensuring that the precautionary principle and intergenerational equity are not just lofty ideals but legal imperatives.

Community empowerment is another essential frontier. Many vulnerable communities do not know their rights or the processes available to them. Legal clinics, law schools and bar associations can conduct legal literacy campaigns that teach residents how to report illegal constructions, participate in local planning, or file complaints when public infrastructure fails. A more informed public is a more resilient one.

The legal profession can also help design and implement innovative financing mechanisms. Green bonds, climate trust funds, and public-private partnerships for flood control infrastructure all require sound legal structuring. Contracts must include transparency, accountability and equity provisions to ensure these solutions benefit the most at-risk populations and not just the privileged few.

Ultimately, the legal community has a moral and civic responsibility to move upstream — both literally and figuratively. We must not wait until floodwaters rise to begin acting. By enforcing the law, shaping policy, educating the public, and guiding investment, lawyers can help transform the Philippines’ approach to floods from reactive crisis management to proactive, systemic prevention. The rains will always come. Whether they bring destruction or merely inconvenience depends, in part, on what we do with the laws already at our disposal.