‘Underground water-retention facilities eyed to ease flooding’

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Romando Artes during his visit at the MMDA headquarters for a situation briefing on August 19, 2026 on the effects of ‘habagat’ in the National Capital Region. (Courtesy: Presidential Communications Office)

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Wednesday the government is considering digging underground water-retention facilities beneath existing public spaces, including football fields and open areas, as part of efforts to strengthen Metro Manila’s defenses against increasingly intense rainfall.

For its part, the Department of Education (DepEd) pushed for more flexible, school-level decisions on class resumption after disasters and severe weather, saying a localized approach could help prevent further learning losses while ensuring student safety.

Following a situation briefing with concerned government officials, the President said 30 potential sites have been identified for the proposed underground facilities, which would temporarily store excess rainwater and help ease flooding during periods of heavy rainfall.

Among the sites identified are Raja Sulaiman, Rizal Memorial and Camp Bagong Diwa, he said following a briefing at the Laguna Lake Development Authority on the effects of the southwest monsoon in Metro Manila.

The proposal was developed with assistance from experts from The Netherlands who studied possible locations where additional water-retention capacity could be built under existing facilities.

“Under existing facilities, such as football fields and open fields, areas can be excavated even if buildings are present,” Mr. Marcos said.

The proposed underground storage system comes as Metro Manila continues to face heavier rainfall associated with climate change.

Mr. Marcos said 201.7 millimeters of rain recently fell in just five hours, equivalent to about 44 percent of the rainfall brought by Typhoon Ondoy over a 24-hour period.

He said the scale of the rainfall showed why the government could no longer rely solely on conventional flood-control measures.

As this developed, Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara said DepEd is drafting a new executive order that would make class suspensions more localized amid recurring weather disturbances.

“We’re drafting an executive order on frequent class suspensions so that in areas where there is no typhoon, schools can resume classes immediately. We would have separate rules for private schools because some of their students have access to vehicles that can withstand a little rain,” Angara said.

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said this proposal has been presented to the President and is being studied by the department.

Under the proposal, schools would assess actual conditions in their respective communities rather than automatically following a uniform suspension order covering an entire province, city or municipality.

She said online classes could be used in areas where students and teachers have access to the necessary connectivity and equipment, rather than automatically suspending learning activities.

Meanwhile, tropical depression “Neneng” slightly weakened as it moved west northwest over the sea east of Central Taiwan.

“Neneng” is forecast to move generally northwestward and may pass close or make landfall over the northern coast of Taiwan by Thursday evening or Friday early morning.

The state weather bureau said one of two tropical depressions being monitored outside of the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) also developed into a tropical storm.

As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, tropical storm “Saudel” was monitored 3,005 kms east of northeastern Mindanao. It packed maximum sustained winds of 75 kph, and gusts of up to 90 kph and was almost stationary.

The other tropical depression remained outside PAR at 890 kms west of extreme northern Luzon.

— Charles Dantes & Rio N. Araja