Unless the national government steps in, communities around the shoreline of Laguna de Bay may have to spend Christmas submerged in floodwater.
That was the assertion of Biñan City, Laguna Representative Walfredo “Arman” Dimaguila, Jr. as he once again urged government agencies to take concrete action in the issue of dredging Laguna de Bay.
During a hearing conducted by the House Committee on Public Accounts last Monday, August 4, Dimaguila stressed that the issue of flooding along the shoreline of Laguna de Bay following the recent weeklong rains is an issue that will have serious impact on the future of those living near the lake.
“Kung nawala po ang baha sa inyo [sa Metro Manila], sa City of Biñan, Santa Rosa, Cabuyao, part ng Muntinlupa, Santa Cruz – hindi po kami past tense. Present tense po kami. Baha po kami ngayon, hanggang baywang,” the representative told officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) who attended the hearing, led by Secretary Manuel Bonoan.
“And the sad part is hindi lang po ito present tense. Future tense din po ito dahil babagyo pa, madadagdagan pa po ang tubig, basura sa Laguna Lake. So not only that, inexpecting natin, marami na kasi nag-propose dito,” he added.
Dimaguila also urged Bonoan and other DPWH officials to seriously consider reviving a scrapped 2010 measure to conduct dredging operations along Laguna de Bay.
“Pero ang ultimate solusyon para po sa amin is pag tidiredge ng Laguna Lake. Hindi naman ultimate, ito is short term din po ito, medium term po ito. Dahil lahat po ng sinasabi niyo, waterways, ang tubig pang dumaan sa inyo, ang ending po ay Laguna Lake,” he added.
“And that is why I think DPWH should address this problem. Dahil i-expect po ninyo, hindi na po pag-uusapan po ito sa media dahil hindi na po pwedeng i-cover ng media ang mga cities along the Laguna Lake ng araw-araw, linggo-linggo, buwan-buwan. Come Christmas season, baha pa rin po kami. Come May, June, July next year, baha-baha pa rin kami.”
During deliberations of the proposed budget of the DPWH for 2026, it was revealed that the DPWH spent P1.06 billion out of its P6.89-billion budget under the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) for flood-control projects, slightly down from the P1.38 billion it allocated for such projects the previous year.
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