CAMARINES Sur Rep. and former Gov. LRay Villafuerte has welcomed the move by the President to fast-track the implementation of the Bicol River Basin Development Program (BRBDP), a defunct project that Mr. Marcos earlier thought of reviving to finally rid the region of the chronic overflow of the Bicol River, which floods parts of the province even when typhoons come with only minimal rainfall.

Villafuerte, who had proposed the revival of the defunct BRBDP way back in the previous two Congresses, said that President Marcos announced this project’s restart in 2025 during his visit to CamSur last Nov. 6, actually the second presidential trip to this worst hit province in Bicol following the onslaught of severe tropical storm Kristine.

The National Unity Party (NUP) president at the same thanked Mr. Marcos for delivering on his commitment of continuing government support for families and communities reeling from the worse-than-expected devastation wrought by Kristine, as the President went to the province last Wednesday for his second visit in a week, this time to lead the handout of cash aid and other forms of assistance to typh00n-hit Bicolanos.

Right after Kristine, the President first visited CamSur last Oct. 26 to check on and provide assistance to typhoon victims temporarily sheltered in evacuation centers in the municipality of Bula.

“On behalf of my fellow Bicolanos, I welcome the President’s decision to fast-track the revival of the BRBDP, beginning next year, as one of his Administration’s long-term solutions to address the perennial overflow of the Bicol River, which is responsible for the floods that usually plague most of our province even during typhoons that strike with only minimal rainfall,” Villafuerte said.

“I also thank the President for making good on his assurance of continuing government support for typhoon-affected families and communities in going to our province for the second time in a week to personally check on, and extend succor to, my provincemates still staggering from the catastrophic impact of the worst flooding ever to hit CamSur,” he said.

President Marcos announced next year’s implementation of the BRBDP during his follow-up visit to CamSur last Wednesday to lead the distribution at the Fuerte Sports Complex in the capital town of Pili of P50 million-worth of cash assistance to about 5,000 typhoon victims.

Each beneficiary was given a cash aid of P10,000, taken from the Presidential Assistance to Farmers, Fisherfolk and Families (PAFFF) program of the Office of the President (OP).

With the restart of the BRBDP in 2025, Villafuerte said there is more reason now for the Congress to include in next year’s proposed General Appropriations Act (GAA) of an initial P20 billion for a multi-year Bicol Rehabilitation and Recovery Fund (BRRF) to help Bicol recover quickly from the worse-than-expected devastation unleashed by Kristine—a comprehensive development and flood-mitigation Fund that can provide sustainable financing for the BRBDP.

But because the House of Representatives already passed its 2025 GAA measure of P6.352 trillion before the Sept. 27-Nov. 3 legislative break, Villafuerte hoped that the Senate could include this P20-billion outlay for the BRRF in its version of next year’s budget bill, which our senators started discussing at the plenary level shortly after the reopening of the Congress last Nov. 4.

Villafuerte said the House under the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez can concur with this P20-billion Fund proposal during the bicameral committee (bicam) process that will happen later for both chambers to draw up a consolidated 2025 GAA bill for ratification by the Congress and then submission to Malacañan Palace for the President’s approval and signature into law.

For Bicol’s speedy rehabilitation and recovery, the congressman at the same time appealed to the Congress to pass his pending House Bill (HB) No. 1793 that aims to create a Sustainable Bicol River Development Authority (SBRDA) to oversee the economic development and climate-proofing of this oft-flooded waterway, which is the country’s 8th biggest river system with a total area of 3,771 square kilometers.

Villafuerte, who had filed similar versions of HB 1793 in both the 17th Congress and 18th Congress, said he agreed with the President that the revival of the BRBDP is necessary to, among others, undertake flood-mitigation projects, because the flooding of the Bicol River was largely responsible for last month’s climate-induced worst flooding ever to strike CamSur.

Although the 94-kilometer (km) Bicol River covers CamSur along with Camarines Norte and Albay, 87% of it is in Villafuerte’s province, where the second district that he represents in the House and the province’s fifth district are the lowest points that become the natural catch basin of this river in times of typhoons.

CamSur suffered its worst flooding last month as Kristine unleashed in a single day—according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa)—711 millimeters (mm) of rainfall, or a third more than the previous record of 455 mm of rains that typhoon Ondoy brought with it in 2009.

Because it dumped two months’ worth of rainfall in just one day, Kristine flooded 759 of CamSur’s over 1,000 barangays, with many villages used to knee-deep water during storms suddenly confronted with above-head or even roof-level floods.

Villafuerte said that Kristine affected 1.36 million people in CamSur’s as it inundated 488 villages, of which 216 were totally submerged in floodwaters.

“As I have promised, we will not stop until Camarines Sur has fully recovered,” said the President, following the distribution of PAFF aid to typhoon victims at the Fuerte CamSur Sports Complex. “I have also directed our agencies and local government units (LGUs) to strengthen the Bicol River Basin Development Program, which will reduce severe flooding and decrease threats posed by heavy rains and future storms in the province.”

President Marcos announced that: “Inaatasan ko ang DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways), DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) at DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) na makkipagtulungan, kasama ang lokal na pamahalaan, upang maging integrated at future-proof ang kanilang mga plano at proyekto para sa Bicol River Basin.”

The President said that the implementation of the BRBDP is in line with his government’s goal to prevent severe flooding caused by climate change, as he revealed the recent completion by the DPWH of the Master Plan and Feasibility Study for the BRB development, which now includes adaptive measures for climate change.

According to a Presidential Communications Office (PCO) report on the day after Mr. Marcos’ visit, the President “committed to start building the BRBDP on the first quarter of 2025.”

Once the BRBDP is in place, the President said, “Unang-una, hindi na masyadong babaha. At pangalawa, kung babaha man ay mas mabilis ang labas ng tubig para lahat ng naapektuhan ay matulungan natin kaagad.”

The BRBDP was established by Mr. Marcos’ late father—former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.—established in 1973 by virtue of Executive Order (EO) No. 412.

However, the BRBDP was discontinued by the then-Aquino administration in 1986.

Villafuerte first proposed the revival of the BRBDP to then-President Duterte in 2019 after a spate of severe typhoons struck CamSur and the rest of Bicol.

The former governor raised the same proposal to President Marcos during the latter’s visit to Bula, CamSur last Oct. 26, and Villafuerte said it was fortunate that Mr. Marcos was receptive to this idea and subsequently directed DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan to “revisit” the BRBDP during a situation briefing in Naga City following his Bula visit.

Given the unprecedented damage inflicted by Kristine, Villafuerte said that, “A special rehabilitation and recovery program and funding is crucial for putting Bicol back on its feet soon enough—in the same way that P10-billion was allocated in the 1990s, for instance, for an ad hoc Commission that was put up at that time to oversee the quick recuperation of Luzon provinces devastated by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo.”

The DENR has identified the BRB as one of the 18 priority river basins in the country in need of comprehensive management and development master plans.

Citing the Formulation of an Integrated Bicol River Basin Management and Development Master Plan prepared by the Orient Integrated Development Consultants, Inc. in 2015, Villafuerte said it was estimated that a total investment package of about P31 billion is needed for a 15-year development and management program for the Bicol River.

As of Nov. 10, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that typhoons Kristine and Leon had flooded a total of 839 areas—killing 160 people; causing P10.56 billion-worth of damages to infrastructure and P7.03 billion-worth of damages to agriculture; and putting 256 cities and municipalities under a state of calamity.

Villafuerte said his proposed multi-year BRRF is aligned with President Marcos’ assurance in his Undas message last Nov. 1 that his Administration would continue assisting calamity-affected Filipinos until their lives return to normal and to strengthen communities against the worsening effects of climate change.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Ryan Ponce Pacpaco