Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia on Friday said an estimated budget of PHP15 million is needed to fund a comprehensive drainage masterplan in 2025.

Garcia said the new masterplan would replace the outdated drainage system being flooded during heavy rains and those situated in low-lying areas.

“This masterplan would integrate all drainage systems into a single, comprehensive network that will address current and future flood control needs,” he said in a statement.

The plan would align all infrastructure initiatives, including flood control projects undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

“We will include it in the project for 2025, unless we can find a budget for 2024, to where I could charge it,” Garcia said as to where the city could source the funding for the project.

DPWH has an existing PHP2 billion worth of flood control projects in the city.

The budget includes the construction of transitory homes for families who will be displaced by the clearing of waterways along riverbanks as well as the installation of gabion dams aimed to reduce water runoff to address floods in low-lying areas.

Ongoing projects also include improvements of the river systems along Lahug, Guadalupe, Kinalumsan, and Bulacao, an undertaking that is part of river clearing activities with a budget of up to PHP1.2 billion. (PNA)