Arroyo’s weak program against flooding criticized

Christian V. Esguerra in the Philippine Daily Inquirer: President Macapagal-Arroyo will open on Monday a high-profile national conference intended to draw up a comprehensive action plan against the impact of climate change in the Philippines. But how does climate change—especially the more tangible problem of perennial flooding in the country—really figure in the government’s list of funding priorities?

An advocacy group scrutinizing government appropriations on Sunday called attention to what it called “paltry” funding for flood control programs and projects since 2002. This year, for instance, only P6.2 billion was set aside for flood control in the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) total budget of P130 billion, according to Joseph Ranola, president of the Center for National Budget Legislation (CNBL). Ranola noted that the DPWH has been the main government agency in charge of flood control….