Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David said on Saturday, 29 August, that the country needs a flood control master plan.

“That is precisely what we seem to be missing,” the cardinal said in a social media post.

The prelate pointed out that floods are not caused by just one thing but by “many interconnected factors, and increasingly these are ecological factors.”

He also reminded the public that water does not recognize congressional districts, city boundaries or electoral jurisdictions.

“Flood management cannot be a collection of disconnected concrete projects. It has to begin with watersheds, forests, rivers, wetlands, coastlines, drainage systems, land-use planning, solid-waste management and climate adaptation. It has to follow the natural movement of water through entire river basins—not political districts,” he explained.

David lamented that “billions of pesos have been poured into projects that too often seem disconnected from any coherent master plan.”

The prelate said this also led to the flood control scandal, which benefited government officials and contractors who allegedly pocketed public funds from ghost or substandard infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, David encouraged the public to remain vigilant and report questionable flood control projects.

“Take photographs. Document what you see. If possible, bring engineers, architects, environmental planners or other knowledgeable citizens who can help assess the work. Submit your findings to the Bisto Proyekto advocacy initiative,” he said.