SAN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga, Philippines — The Pampanga Provincial Government is asking the national government for the “timely intervention” of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and President Aquino regarding funds for flood control and dike repairs in the province.

Governor Lilia Pineda was shocked after learning that the Public Works Department has no funds for flood mitigations and dike repairs in Central Luzon.

The Regional Office of the DPWH here said that they cannot even lend backhoe loaders and other equipment to the provincial government to declog the water systems in Pampanga which was blocked by water hyacinths and garbage during the onslaught of typhoon ‘Falcon’ as there is no budget allotted by the national government for gasoline allowance.

Pineda shared that DPWH Region 3 told her that the agency has only budget for bridge and roads, and none for dikes.

“I was stunned,” said Pineda who visited the regional office of DPWH on Monday afternoon to show videos of the massive effects of the floods in her province.

Pineda said that the provincial government will present the problem with DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson.

“We are hoping that the good and reliable DPWH secretary will assist us for the sake of the people,” the governor said, adding that funds for flood mitigation and repair of flood-control dikes must be given priorities in the region because flood is a perennial problem in Central Luzon provinces, especially Pampanga, which serves as a catch basin of waters coming from its mountainous neighboring provinces.

“We will do our best to solve this problem. We will ask funds from the DPWH,” she said.

Pineda explained that three flood-control dikes in the province should be repaired immediately to spare the people from much higher flood waters in the future.

These dikes include the Kaulaman Dike in Floridablanca, and two other dikes located in Santa Ana portion of the Pampanga River.

The governor immediately called an emergency meeting with the mayors of Pampanga on Tuesday afternoon to discuss ways on how to assist the 88,185 families in the province affected by the recent typhoon.

At least 2,029 of the said families are still staying at public schools that serve as evacuation centers in the province.

As of Wednesday, the Pampanga Information Office (PIO) revealed that flood waters in some towns have already subsided, but said that the towns of Masantol, Macabebe, Minalin, Sasmuan and Candaba are still under knee-high to waist-high waters.

The provincial government on Tuesday has declared a state of emergency in the entire province as 18 of its 20 towns remained inundated, allowing the provincial government to use its P77 million calamity funds to assist the typhoon victims.

“Some are asking why we declared a state of calamity even if the typhoon (Falcon) already fled. This is because we only had a clear picture of the destruction after the typhoon,” the governor explained.