00:00Residents will serve as protection against flood and storm against this slow protection or retaining wall on the side of the river.
00:16It's worth almost Php 100 million.
00:22But less than a year after doing this,
00:25Why did the Flood Control Project suddenly stop?
00:56That's why the residents living on the side of the river had to flee because of the flood.
01:03Please help us.
01:22Why did you design this?
01:29Your project is a waste.
01:33It's a waste of money.
01:37This retaining wall is 100 meters long.
01:40It was built so that it won't flood the town of Araya when the water level rises.
01:46But after more than a year, this part of the retaining wall has already collapsed.
01:53In the town of Licab, Nueva Ecija,
01:56a Flood Control Project was also destroyed in the aftermath of the Super Typhoon Pepitong.
02:03It's worth more than Php 47 million.
02:09Because of the destruction of the project, the whole town was flooded and some farmers lost their livelihood.
02:17This part was destroyed and all the water came to us.
02:25It's a waste.
02:29Every project was spent by the town.
02:34That's why we should investigate
02:40and ask,
02:42Where is the money?
02:44What is the cause of the flood?
02:53Ma, it's about to rain.
02:58On the afternoon of August 16, 2024, the residents of Barangay Cantading, Araya, and Pampanga were confused
03:05when the land next to the river suddenly split after the rain.
03:10It's a disaster.
03:14It's a disaster.
03:17It's a disaster.
03:19It's a disaster.
03:24Because Pampanga is considered a catch basin,
03:30the Department of Public Works and Highways, or DPWH, established a slope protection or retaining wall project.
03:40This will serve as a protection for the residents and the community whenever the water rises in the Pampanga River.
03:49But on the morning of August 17,
03:52the land split and the retaining wall part continued to collapse.
04:00Guys, look at this.
04:03It's flooding.
04:06It's a disaster.
04:09It's a disaster.
04:14It's a disaster.
04:17This will create a problem.
04:20It's shaking.
04:22It could break.
04:27It's a disaster.
04:29As a result of the earthquake, the ground around the damaged project is almost collapsed.
04:36Even the houses are damaged.
04:39Where are you going? This is dangerous. Even your house is damaged.
04:45We are calling you. What did you do?
04:47My God, what did you do to us?
04:49We are all broken.
04:51We are all damaged.
04:54The resident, Marcos Castillo,
04:57noticed that the ground is slowly crumbling in their area.
05:02At first, it was like half a meter per day.
05:07The next day, it was one meter.
05:10Now, it's three meters deep.
05:16But one night, they suddenly heard a loud bang.
05:22The project is already collapsing.
05:30That's the broken concrete.
05:33And these steel pipes are the ones that are breaking.
05:38When we woke up,
05:40we noticed that the ground is slowly crumbling.
05:47As the retaining wall collapsed,
05:49his house was damaged and almost no one lived in it.
05:54This is my house.
05:57That's the kitchen and the room.
05:59Half of the room has already collapsed.
06:02Can I still sleep peacefully here?
06:05Of course, I can't.
06:07So, I'm on my own.
06:10It's very heavy.
06:12Of course, this is where I grew up and became a family member.
06:17I won't just leave this land.
06:23In the document obtained by the Reporter's Notebook from DPWH,
06:27it is stated that the retaining wall is worth P91.6 million.
06:33In February 2023, the DPWH started the project
06:37Flood Management Programme,
06:39for the rehabilitation of flood mitigation facilities within major river basins.
06:45This was declared 100% completed in October 2023.
06:51The general appropriations act, or GAA, or Kaban ng Bayan, did not fund the project.
06:57But less than a year later, the project collapsed.
07:02August 19, two days after the collapse,
07:05the Reporter's Notebook went to the project.
07:15This retaining wall is 100 meters long.
07:18It was built to prevent flooding in the town of Arayat
07:21when the water level in the river rises.
07:24Construction started in February 2020.
07:27But after more than a year, this part of the retaining wall collapsed.
07:33We were lucky that the contractor was able to repair the collapsed part of the retaining wall.
07:40What are you restoring now?
07:42Have you taken into consideration that it can collapse again because the land will move?
07:48Actually, we already put the water pump outside.
07:53Actually, we already put the water pump outside.
07:57We already put big bricks so that it won't collapse.
08:01The land here is already damaged.
08:05This project is 107 meters long.
08:08In the collapse, 50 meters were damaged and affected.
08:13The contractor explained that they just followed the design given by DPWH.
08:19What did the DPWH say about the design?
08:22Should this be tolerated?
08:23Yes, because that's what they do in other projects.
08:28That's where the collapse happened.
08:31But in the design, did it say that this land could move?
08:37No.
08:38Why don't you know?
08:40Before this retaining wall was built, it was almost P100 million.
08:45Why didn't you know that this would happen?
08:48Shouldn't you have studied it?
08:50We didn't study it.
08:52So it's a waste.
08:54This project is a waste, right?
08:56That's why we are doing it.
08:59We will restore it.
09:01Reporters went to the office of DPWH Region 3
09:05to find out why the P100 million project was destroyed so quickly.
09:11The affected area of our project is where the embankment was settled.
09:19Then our sheet pile tilted or leaned towards the river.
09:25There are dead man or anchor tie there.
09:29You will also see that they really resisted
09:35when the water was too heavy or the soil under the project was too soft.
09:43According to the DPWH,
09:45before the project was implemented and started,
09:48their agency will be held accountable.
09:51Of course, there will be a survey and a plan will be made.
09:54But before you can make a plan,
09:56there will be an investigation,
10:00like the soil and water.
10:03Then there will be a topography of the location where you want to do the project.
10:11After the construction of the project,
10:13they promised that they will continue to monitor the contractors in repairing it.
10:19Our contractors are repairing it.
10:23We are monitoring them.
10:26The government will not spend any money because the project is under warranty.
10:32But in the middle of repairing the retaining wall,
10:35the other part of the project fell again due to the impact of Hurricane Christine.
10:45In this video,
10:46it is noteworthy that the damaged part of the project almost sank due to the high water level.
11:03The reporter's notebook returned the location.
11:08The previously dented retaining wall
11:11completely collapsed and almost fell into the river.
11:17The residents living around it were more afraid.
11:22Of course, we are afraid.
11:24Because of Hurricane Christine, we were saved.
11:29It collapsed.
11:31It looks like it exploded.
11:33Then when the flood came, it stopped.
11:37Because the houses there collapsed.
11:41Three months after the collapse,
11:44Three months after the collapse of the retaining wall,
11:47this is what the house of Marcos looks like now.
11:52Their kitchen and room completely collapsed.
11:56The floor is falling.
11:57The house completely collapsed.
12:00Of course, there is still a little left.
12:06They also decided to temporarily leave the place.
12:11Of course, I am worried.
12:13Especially since we are just living here.
12:17This is a different type of house.
12:20I am also waiting for this to end so that we can come back here.
12:25We again interviewed DPWH Region 3.
12:29You've mentioned before, sir, that you will monitor and continue the repair.
12:36But sir, what happened?
12:38Why did that project collapse again?
12:42The problem is when the water comes.
12:46For example, the pipito.
12:48When the water rises, we cannot do the repair.
12:52So mostly when it falls, that's when we do the repair.
12:56We do it quickly so that people can be protected immediately.
13:02We showed an expert the damaged part of the retaining wall.
13:08According to him,
13:09The sheet pile can really be used.
13:11It is an appropriate material as a slope protection.
13:14The question is, is the design correct?
13:16The thickness of the steel used,
13:18its layout,
13:20the depth that penetrates inside.
13:22The way I look at this, from this point of view,
13:25this is close. It is also dangerous to protect.
13:29It is also important to re-study the design before doing the project again.
13:33Review the previous design which failed.
13:37Then involve the other DC team.
13:40It should not have a failure if the design considerations are correct.
13:47There is an additional design there.
13:49The suggestion is to put perforated pipes.
13:54There are perforated pipes below
13:57so that the softening of the soil, like before, can be avoided.
14:06The work there is amazing.
14:08So if you look at it now,
14:10we are already within 40% in the construction.
14:18They also assure that there will still be no funds
14:21to rebuild the damaged part of the retaining wall.
14:24That is under warranty.
14:26So that is what we are using as a fund
14:32taking into consideration what is happening there.
14:51For more information, visit www.fema.gov
Comments