Task force seeks more funding for rehab of Bicol, Cagayan rivers

MANILA, Philippines — The government’s Task Force “Build Back Better” is seeking more funds to fast-track the rehabilitation efforts in Bicol and Cagayan rivers.

The task force co-chaired by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Public Works and Highways aim to remove sandbars in Bicol River by 2023 and in Cagayan River by 2025.

Task Force Build Back Better was directed to ensure post-disaster rehabilitation efforts in typhoon-hit areas

The agencies need about 1.45 billion and P3.2 billion funding assistance to purchase new equipment for the dredging operations in Bicol and Cagayan River Basins, respectively.

Part of the proposed funding will go to the restoration and replace of 40 floodgates along the Naga-Calabanga embankment.

DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu said the initiatives of Task Force Build Back Better “will go a long way in accelerating the recovery of the country from the social and economic disruptions from the global pandemic.”

While priority funding should go to address the pandemic, Cimatu said that “priority should likewise be given to equally important efforts on climate change and disaster mitigation programs meant to assure the country of its food security and prevent, or at least minimize loss of precious infrastructures due to flooding.”

The Bicol river dredging plan is scheduled to be finished by end-2025 using the present fleet of DPWH equipment but can be shortened by two years if the request for additional equipment is granted.

Meanwhile, the projected completion of the dredging efforts in Cagayan River is within the first quarter of 2025 with the additional equipment. — Gaea Katreena Cabico