--by Jade Beverly Wang--

Sustainability in the Philippines is a series of articles published for Jade Beverly Wang, Chief Sustainability of Greenhouse Café Clark Philippines, one of the first sustainability restaurants in the Philippines.

The fault in our system: Why the Philippines flood control has failed

Look closely and you’ll find a crack in the wall.

The concrete landscape of Philippines’ urban cities is an engineering feat and the pride of our economic development. However, as beautiful as it can be, the bedrock of which these towering skyscrapers are built upon is inherently broken. The country has always been a vulnerable target to heavy rain and flooding, so much so that typhoons and disasters have almost become synonymous to the Filipino experience in the eyes of many. It lies along the Pacific typhoon belt and experiences monsoon winds which direct rainfall all across the country. In fact, a 2017 study by Filipino researchers states that Manila is built “one of the widest floodplains in the Philippines”.

Over the summer, Tropical Storm Wipha brought significant rainfall to Manila, seeing tens of thousands of people lose their livelihoods to rising sea levels, and being forced to evacuate from their homes. Six people have been killed by major flooding in the Philippines, and another six people are still missing. Many events such as these pervade the Philippine news until every life affected becomes a statistic.

It seems as though every time a storm hits the Philippines, several parts of the country collapse into rubble. Local news name lethal floodings brought on by climate change as the culprit. Is that the last word on this subject or should we dig a little deeper to find the real root cause of the deadly problem?

NATURAL DISASTERS ARE MANMADE

Long before the floods of Wipha, Bualoi, and Ragasa, the Philippines already began to crumble, becoming more vulnerable by the day. Many blame the external consequences of climate change as a significant cause of the flooding. Though it is a significant cause of the high impact of natural disasters, I’d argue that the Philippines has a greater villain in this narrative: groundwater practices, bad urban development, lack of flood defense and maintenance gaps, all of which make the impacts of every new flood all the worse. The cause and effects of the floods are local and manmade.

Global climate trends set the stage, but local policies determine the score. According to the National News on the climate and environment, Sea levels across the Philippines are already rising three times faster than the global average of 3.6mm per year, possibly accelerating to 13mm annually. Why are the sea levels rising so fast? In Manila’s case, subsidence from ground water extraction compounds the challenge. An InSAR time series analysis validated by the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data has identified the deforming areas as a result of ground water extraction to be in major Philippine metropolitan cities.

Deep wells are drilled to provide a convenient source of clean water to use in large scale urban development projects. Ground water extraction in excess causes land subsidence, which occurs when not enough water is supporting the weight of the land. This causes sea levels to rise, heightening the risk of flooding in urban areas.

Metro Manila’s flood dynamics reveal a pattern seen in many growing cities. Regional discussions of sea-level rise warn that higher base levels increase the risk of storm surges and tidal flooding in coastal districts. In Quezon city, the QC government declared that Districts

1, 3, and 4 bore the brunt of the downpour, with a total of 36 out of 142 barangays affected. It is clear as day that the city was not designed with floods in mind. Urban developers have covered the country’s land in concrete, roads and buildings which replaced permeable surfaces that would’ve otherwise absorbed rainwater. Related concerns about groundwater extraction are well documented in dense urban cores around the world, including Metro Manila. As the city transforms more and more into a concrete jungle, its natural drainage pathways are interrupted. Water takes longer to drain, leading to prolonged floods after heavy downpours.

Although Quezon city has borne the brunt of flooding, there is a disproportionate risk towards low income communities. According to the Borgen Project, 43% of the Philippines’ urban population live in informal slums – those who have made settlements along esteros and canals. Evacuation and protection is impossible for informal settlers meaning the death toll from drowning is devastatingly high.

The greed of urban planners has prioritised profits over the needs of society. Time and time again, this model has been deemed financially unsustainable, crumbling down into rubble in the matter of a few decades. However, there is a way to create a better system, which transforms the city from a world of risk to resilience.

First, the Philippines must ensure that new and existing infrastructure are environmentally resilient. Developing pumping stations, tide gates and retention facilities is crucial, as well as rehabilitating the people who have lost their homes in floods. Addressing subsidence requires credible monitoring and an integrated water-resource strategy that aligns with broader urban planning goals. Both approaches strengthen the Philippines’ flood defence and drainage systems.

Secondly, development must align with people-centered planning. Before any project, urban planners should conduct a sensitivity analysis during system planning to mitigate the risks of environmental disasters. This would include restricting high-risk developments in floodplains, promoting flood-resilient construction standards and a ban on destroying important flood drainage systems.

A third pillar is supporting the community. Environmental challenges do not exist in a vacuum, and it is apparent that the impact of the floods fall wholly on low income communities. Programmes that employ residents from vulnerable neighborhoods to participate in drainage cleaning, canal maintenance, and early warning communications can deliver immediate risk reduction while offering livelihoods. Strengthening community-based disaster preparedness and ensuring accessible evacuation routes for vulnerable groups are essential components of a broader resilience strategy.

Finally, governance and corporate accountability must play a central role. Encouraging credible environmental, social, and governance disclosures, aligned with local standards, can drive responsible water and flood-risk management. Responsible groundwater management

and avoidance of practices that degrade flood defenses are critical, and credible research showing the economic and social benefits of sustainable practices should inform policy and investment decisions.

Financing such a resilience push will require a mix of public funding, targeted development grants, and private-sector involvement anchored in long-term risk reduction. Although the upfront costs are substantial, by integrating climate risk, projects have reduced exposure to environmental disasters over time, thus lowering the cost of rebuilding infrastructure in the long run. The argument for a holistic approach to flood resilience is clear: address immediate drainage needs while planning for long-term land-use changes and governance that holds both public institutions and private actors to account.

The signs of natural disasters are a response to human behaviour. Echoing a timeless call to stewardship in the book of Genesis: God asked humans to “work the lands and keep it”.

So when Mother Nature signals disorder, the guiding question we should ask is “How can we change?”.