Cebu’s incoming mayors once again vow to fix floods first

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CEBU CITY, Philippines – With the return of the rainy season, residents of Cebu’s tri-cities — Cebu City, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu — are once again preparing for floods that don’t need a typhoon to arrive. Even ordinary rain now brings ankle- to knee-deep water to streets and stalls, a scene so routine it no longer sparks alarm, much less action.

May Ann Rose Alvarado, a 32-year-old fruit vendor, said flooding near her home often stalls their motorcycle, with water sometimes reaching knee-deep levels. Her family has learned to cope with the floods on their own.

“Whenever there’s a drainage problem, we’re the ones told to find a solution,” she shared in an interview with Rappler. Cleaning clogged drains, she said, would solve much of the problem.

An elderly street vendor, requesting anonymity, echoed the same sense of resignation. “Naanad na mi. Kung mo-ulan, kabalo na mi nga mobaha. Balhin lang mi sa mas taas nga dapit,” she said. (We’ve gotten used to it. When it rains, we already know it’s going to flood. We just move to a higher spot.)

These accounts reflect a broader pattern among Cebuanos who have grown accustomed to flooding and no longer expect government intervention, following years of mayors declaring flooding a top priority but then failing to deliver on those promises.

Billions spent

As reported by CDN Digital, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) spent over P5 billion on flood-mitigation projects in Cebu City from 2016 to 2024, but much of that spending failed to translate into visible progress.

In 2019, then-mayor Edgardo Labella secured P1.5 billion and formed an inter-agency task force on flooding, but relocation and coordination issues stalled efforts. 

After Labella’s death in 2021, then-acting mayor Michael Rama’s budget office moved to cancel the projects altogether, citing missing documentation and lack of direction. 

But when Rama assumed the mayoralty in 2022, he reversed course — declaring flooding a top priority and launching Task Force Gubat sa Baha (War Against Flooding) to lead a renewed anti-flood campaign.

Still, the cycle of setbacks continued. Legal disputes, right-of-way issues, and failure to relocate informal settlers led to the suspension of several DPWH projects. 

In 2024, after Rama’s suspension and dismissal, then-vice mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia became Cebu City’s mayor and proposed a P2-billion flood mitigation plan, but he lost the 2025 mayoral race, halting the projects.

New mayor, same promise

Councilor and environmental advocate Nestor Archival is set to become Cebu City’s 29th mayor. 

Before his June 30 inauguration, he had already directed city departments to start desilting waterways. He plans to update the 20-year-old drainage master plan, backed by a P10-P15 million feasibility study for a future P8.2 billion overhaul. 

To address immediate flooding, he aims to deploy temporary pumps in high-risk areas and form technical groups for long-term projects like gabion dams. However, formal actions await his official assumption of office.

All of this unfolds against a backdrop of worsening climate conditions. According to state weather bureau PAGASA, Cebu now receives 1,685 millimeters of rainfall annually — enough to fill roughly 700 Olympic-sized swimming pools across 138 rainy days a year.

Mandaue’s flooding worsens 

Mandaue City continues to face severe flooding, with at least 44 families evacuated on June 6, due to clogged drains and overflowing creeks despite regular desilting.

Ian Christian Cosido, a 28-year-old lawyer and educator from Mandaue, said flooding has become a yearly crisis since 2011. Before then, major floods mostly followed typhoons like Ruping in 1990.

What haunts him most is the September 9, 2022 flood, when heavy rain caused the Butuanon River to overflow, submerging 20 barangays and displacing 1,800 residents. Declared biologically dead in 1992, the river was also closed in 2020 after polio virus traces were detected.

DELUGE. Mandaue firefighters rescue a child from floodwaters in Barangay Umapad during the September 9, 2022 Butuanon River overflow. Photo courtesy of BFP R7 Mandaue City Fire Office.

Cosido noted some local efforts like warning systems and flood control projects, but criticized the absence of city personnel during severe floods.

“I have observed that local government units are absent during severe flood events in our community, which is unacceptable given the urgency. The DRRMO (Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office) should deploy personnel on standby throughout high-risk periods,” he said.

One of the worst incidents in recent memory happened on July 15, 2024, when the Butuanon River overflowed due to heavy rain in Cebu City’s uplands. 

Though it didn’t rain in Mandaue that day, the deluge inundated Barangays Umapad, Paknaan, and Ibabao-Estancia, trapping over 190 families in Umapad alone. 

Rescue teams used boats and lifesavers to evacuate 671 individuals, who were temporarily housed at Umapad Elementary School. An additional 37 families were also evacuated from Ibabao-Estancia.

Then-mayor Jonas Cortes responded with proposals for joint river rehabilitation with Cebu City and the construction of upstream gabion dams. However, many of these plans stalled just weeks later, when Cortes was suspended for one year starting August 2024 due to a grave misconduct case.

Vice Mayor Glenn Bercede stepped in as acting mayor and pledged to continue Cortes’ flood mitigation programs. His administration focused on drainage declogging and coordination with national agencies. 

However, progress was marred by setbacks. A P127-million riprap project along the Butuanon River — funded by the DPWH — partially collapsed in late 2024.

The rise of another Ouano 

As the 2025 elections neared, Cortes attempted a political comeback, but his run was hampered by legal troubles and a strong opposition.

On May 13, 2025, Thadeo Jovito “Jonkie” Ouano was proclaimed mayor-elect of Mandaue City, reclaiming a post previously held for three terms each by his father, Thadeo “Teddy” Ouano, and grandfather, Alfredo “Pedong” Ouano — marking the family’s return to city hall after 18 years.

Just days before taking office, Jonkie faced his first test as heavy rain on June 6 flooded Tipolo, A.S. Fortuna, and Subangdaku, rendering some roads nearly impassable. Though not yet officially serving, he pledged to prioritize flood control.

MANDAUE FLOOD. Heavy rain on June 6, 2025 caused knee-deep flooding in Tipolo and parts of Mandaue City, making A.S. Fortuna and nearby roads barely passable for light vehicles. Photo courtesy of Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue

“I don’t want to make promises we can’t fulfill because the people will hold us accountable. But we will do our best to improve the drainage systems,” he said during the oath-taking ceremony of One Mandaue on June 9.

Joint legacy

In Lapu-Lapu City, husband-and-wife Junard “Ahong” Chan and Ma. Cynthia “Cindi” King-Chan swapped political seats in May 2025, with Cindi becoming mayor and Ahong winning a congressional seat. 

But if the seats have swapped, the promises have not. Both Chans have doubled down on their shared vow to end two of Lapu-Lapu’s most persistent issues: traffic congestion and city-wide flooding.

In a Facebook post dated June 16, Ahong reported meeting with key officials from the DPWH-7, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7), and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB-7) to discuss major infrastructure projects aimed at easing traffic and flooding in the city.

Ahong also noted that proper drainage systems, long overdue, are only now being installed under their administration. Despite this, flooding remains a problem; on June 6, several key areas experienced moderate to heavy floods.

The incoming mayor has not yet released a statement regarding flooding, but both she and her husband have consistently committed to making infrastructure and flood control the center of their joint legacy.

As Ahong said in his post: “We have done all of this because we want to leave behind a legacy that the people will never forget. This is the best way we could think of to show our gratitude and to give back the trust and support you gave us in the recently concluded elections.”

Whether these new promises will finally hold water is something only the next storm can show. – Rappler.com

Marjuice Destinado is a junior political science student at Cebu Normal University (CNU). An Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow of Rappler for 2025, she serves as the feature editor of Ang Suga, CNU’s official student publication.