PBBM to Dizon: Deploy nature-based coastal defenses

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to adopt hybrid and nature-based solutions to mitigate chronic flooding and storm surges across low-lying coastal regions, agency officials announced Sunday.

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon inspected a pilot sediment trapping project in Barangay Pamarawan, Malolos City, saying that the DPWH will replicate the municipal government's bamboo stilt design as an alternative coastal defense model across North Manila Bay.

"President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. instructed us to take immediate action," Dizon said. "We are making plans to replicate this project throughout the North Manila Bay towns of Hagonoy, Paombong, Masantol, Macabebe, and all the way to Sasmuan."

The DPWH chief stressed that the national government is shifting away from exclusive reliance on traditional concrete seawalls and gray infrastructure in favor of environmentally sustainable hydrological frameworks developed alongside international partners and private sector experts.

"We cannot rely solely on concrete infrastructure," Dizon said. "We also need nature-based solutions."

The natural structures use bamboo stilt arrays to capture waterborne silt and sediment, helping to rebuild degraded coastal mangroves and natural buffer zones without heavy construction.

The planned expansion covers coastal municipalities across Bulacan and Pampanga that face chronic tidal flooding, severe weather surges, and land subsidence.