Hydrologist Danilo Jaque of Hydronet Consultants Inc. urged national and local government units on Friday to combine structural engineering works with nature-based, science-backed interventions to address Metro Cebu’s persistent flooding problems.
“Cebu’s recent flooding — from lowland to upland barangays — has revealed the limits of relying on concrete alone,” he told the media.
He noted that structural fixes will continue to fall short unless they are paired with upstream ecological restoration and interventions. Flood solutions, he said, must go beyond river-channel widening and drainage upgrades to include watershed rehabilitation measures such as reforestation, the creation of buffer zones, and the development of retention basins.
Jaque was one of the speakers at the Water Secure PH forum organized by the Department of Science and Technology–Central Visayas (DoST-7).
During the forum, speakers highlighted that climate-driven extremes and rapid urbanization demand a shift toward hybrid and nature-based solutions.
“Both approaches are effective when integrated,” Jaque said. “We need structures, but we also need to preserve the ecology. Replacing everything with concrete is no longer sustainable.”
He pointed to lagoon systems and retention basins as key interventions, as these allow excess stormwater to be temporarily stored — helping maintain natural hydrology at a time when rapid development is causing heavier runoff.
The forum also presented PAGASA data covering 2000 to 2024, which showed significant fluctuations, with periods of both extreme rainfall and drought. These variations, combined with dense urban development concentrated within four kilometers of the coast, leave key cities such as Cebu (1.06 million population), Mandaue (430,000), and Talisay (270,000) highly susceptible to flooding, particularly in low-lying areas less than 20 meters above sea level.
Structural interventions to address flood risks include the construction of impounding structures or reservoirs to hold back excess water during heavy rainfall, river and channel improvements to increase flow capacity, enhancements to drainage systems to efficiently collect and transport urban runoff, and the installation of dikes and pump gates to protect low-lying areas and control water flow.