DAVAO FLOOD CONTROL FACTS
INFRASTRUCTURE-ORIENTED thinktank Infrawatch PH fact-checked Vice President Sara Duterte’s claim that the Marcos Jr. administration is not funding the flood control program for Davao City because the city’s mayor is a Duterte.
On Friday, the younger Duterte expressed dismay over the supposed lack of funding for infrastructure projects aligning with the “master plan and feasibility study for flood control” for Davao City purportedly formulated during the time of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
“The vice president’s recent tirades on flood control don’t hold water. At best, we can rate her statement as missing essential context,” remarked Infrawatch PH convenor Terry Ridon.
The thinktank said that while there are several ongoing flood control projects in Mindanao, several of which are funded by foreign loans, VP Duterte may only be referring to the “Davao City Flood Control and Drainage Project – Priority Projects for Riverine Flood in Davao City,” which is listed in the budget books as a foreign-assisted project to be financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
“The missing context is this: Based on JICA’s records, the Philippine government requested assistance from the Japanese government in August 2017 – under President Duterte’s term – to craft a master plan and feasibility study on flood control and drainage in Davao City. JICA then proceeded to craft said masterplan, of which the final report was only released in July last year,” Ridon explained.
