1st of two parts
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 22 June 2026) — Johnsan Temple did not only check the weather app or listen for storm warnings, he had to monitor the rising waters in the narrow canal in front of his convenience store on Veloso Street, Brgy. 20-B, Poblacion, so he could decide when to move his stock of softdrinks on the side of his store a couple of meters higher, before the canal overflows.
“We don’t even have to wait for a typhoon anymore. A short downpour is enough for the canal to overflow and impact our business,” he said, standing outside his store on a Friday afternoon, the day after a brief but heavy downpour flooded Veloso St. and left the canal stagnant with water.
Temple is a resident of Brgy. 20-B, and has been running a convenience store for 10 years.
“With every strong rain, it always floods,” he said, adding this pattern has been normalized in their area. “What makes it worse is that it takes too long to subside,” Temple said.
On August 19, 2025, several areas in downtown Davao City including Barangay 20-B; Ramon Magsaysay Avenue, Uyanguren; corner Jacinto Extension, and JP Laurel Avenue-Mamay Road experienced flooding following continuous rains brought about by southwest monsoon (Habagat) and easterlies.
Temple said they had been cautious since then and always on the lookout whenever the clouds turn gray.
No stranger to flooding
According to the city’s 2019-2024 Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment (CDRA) report published in 2025, floods commonly occur during the first quarter of each year.
The CDRA identified flooding as among the hazards that Davao City is susceptible to, due to its distinctive geography. The presence of topographic low landforms such as active river channels and places adjacent to rivers, is associated with a higher risk of flooding as these areas operate as natural catchment basins for rainfall.
In the Flood Susceptibility Map of the city in 2023, 72 barangays were classified as “very susceptible” to flood.
The projected rainfall in the city is an average of 392.9 mm annually, with the months of June-July-August having the highest at 494.1 mm, according to the CDRA, citing the Projected Changes in Seasonal Temperature in the mid-21st Century (2036-2065) for the city.
What the floodwaters reveal
In its report to the 8th regular session of the Davao City Council on August 26, 2025, the City Engineer’s Office (CEO), citing the assessment of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO), identified 265 areas in 182 barangays as frequently affected by flooding.
CEO OIC Atty. Janice Louise Esparcia presented to the City Council that 140 of the 265 flood-prone areas are in District 1 (53%), 69 in District 2, and 56 in District 3. Of these areas, about 67% fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Engr. Maria Gloria Sorera, chief of maintenance of the DPWH Davao City District Engineering Office for the First Legislative District reported that flooding is primarily associated with city streets rather than national roads.
Along JP Laurel Avenue, in the vicinity of what used to be Victoria Plaza, drainage issues are aggravated by stormwater runoff carrying waste through a discontinued drainage system and the unfinished outfall at Veloso Street of Brgy. 20-B.
Sorera said street flooding is inevitable during heavy rainfall.
Improper waste disposal, she emphasized, is the primary factor, particularly plastics entering the inlets. She pushed for a stricter implementation of solid waste management ordinance.
62 flood mitigation and drainage projects
To address the flood problem, the city government, through the CEO, implemented 62 flood mitigation and drainage projects since 2022, funded through the city’s Annual Development Fund and various supplemental budgets from 2020 to 2024, with a total allocation of P608.2 million.
The distribution of funds per district shows that District 1, given the greater number of affected areas, received the largest share at P338.05 million, followed by District 2 at P152.9 million, and District 3 at P117.3 million.
Esparcia said several projects had already been completed, while others remain ongoing, either under documentation, verification, or in the bidding process.
While the CEO continues its operations such as rodding, drainage and manhole repairs, canal cleaning, clearing of inlets and silt accumulation, flooding persists, particularly during heavy rainfall.
This reporter reached out to Esparcia on May 11 to ask for an update on the 265 areas and the flood mitigation measures in place but was directed to secure the data from the City Information Office (CIO). On May 12, CIO was asked for an interview schedule. The office asked for clarifications regarding the purpose of the interview, which was promptly answered on the same day. The CIO sent no reply.
Follow-ups were made on May 13 and June 8 but the CIO sent no reply.
On June 9, this reporter sent an email to the CIO’s official email account addressed to CIO chief Harvey Lanticse. The CIO replied the next day confirming receipt and said the email was forwarded to the CEO and that they were awaiting response.
Follow-ups were made on June 11, 15. 16 and 17 by email but the CIO has not replied as of June 20.
Investigations
Aside from city funds, other flood control projects were funded by the national government through the district representatives.
First district Representative Paolo Duterte has been hounded by questions on the alleged P51-billion funded projects for his district from 2020 to 2022, when his father, long-term mayor of Davao City, Rodrigo Duterte, was still President.
Rep. Duterte said the DPWH-Davao records show around P49.84 billion worth of infrastructure projects were completed in Davao City from 2020 to 2022 and that these include flood-control structures, drainage systems, roads, bridges, and other public works aimed at addressing urban flooding, traffic congestion, and the city’s growing infrastructure needs.
On November 13, 2025, the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives filed House Resolution 464, calling on the Committees on Public Accounts and Public Works and Highways, to investigate the flood control projects within Davao City’s 1st District, along the Davao and Matina rivers from 2019 to 2022 worth P4.44 billion “that shows strong indications of gross overpricing, ghost and incomplete delivery, fraud, collusion, and systematic plunder of public funds.”
In December, Rep. Duterte did not appear before the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, claiming he was not evading scrutiny but did not want to participate in what he described as a “staged political show.”
On May 19, 2026, a day after the Davao City flooding, ACT Teachers Party-list Representative Antonio Tinio of the Makabayan bloc, went to the Office of the Ombudsman to file a complaint, urging an investigation into the P4.4 billion worth of flood control projects cited in HR 464.
Assistant District Engineer Emilio P. Sucaldito Jr. of Davao City District Engineering Office and District Engineer Rogelio T. Anghag of Davao de Oro 1st District Engineering Office were directed by the DPWH Central Office to submit records of 80 flood control projects worth ₱4.4 billion along the Davao and Matina Rivers, to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Investigation is still ongoing.
Other flood control projects
For the Annual Infrastracture Program of DPWH Region XI based on GAA FY 2023, 2024, and 2025 , individual flood control, revetment, flood mitigation, and drainage structure projects in Davao City were funded, under the Basic Infrastructure Program.
This includes a cluster of ₱100M-each Bunawan River flood mitigation structures (five segments); ₱195M Matina River revetment (Matina Pangi Bridge II), ₱100M Talomo River flood mitigation at Catalunan Pequeño Creek, ₱50M Tigatto drainage system for FY 2023.
A ₱150M Davao River revetment rehab (Bayanihan St./Mandug); Ilang/Bunawan River revetments; and ₱30M drainage rehab along Davao-Cotabato Road were allocated under FY 2024 while ₱151 million was allotted for “Construction of Flood Mitigation Structure Protecting Davao City Coastal Bypass Road”(Bago Aplaya–Times Beach section); and ₱100M Lasang River and Davao River revetment projects under FY 2025.
The Human Cost
Back on Veloso Street,Temple recalls filing complaints with the barangay hall several times to desilt the canal. But no action has been taken. When the rains come, he said, flooding is certain.
“They constructed a drainage but there is no clear exit, and the manhole used to be deep but now it has overflowed, with no maintenance conducted,” he said, noting that when it rains, they have to scoop out the water from the clogged canal in front of his store.
“Clogged canals shelter mosquitoes, and they stink. Most likely, they bring diseases like dengue,” Temple stressed. Floodwater laced with decomposing garbage creates conditions favorable for rats and mosquitoes, he said.
Temple was referring to the clogged manhole in front of his convenience store that overflows during heavy rains.
Plastics
A mechanic working in a car repair shop on the same street laments the loss of income when the floods make the road impassable.
“Whenever the rain is continuous, it always overflows and floods here,” he said.
Another resident of Barangay 20-B notes that while there is a drainage system, there are lapses in the monitoring.
He said no desilting has been conducted after the construction of the Veloso drainage in 2020, and he suspects this might have caused the August 2025 flooding.
Asked about the plastic bottles in the drainage, the resident dismissed it as a “normal occurrence” after a heavy downpour but claims the plastic waste is not generated by their barangay but by residents in the higher areas.
“It should be the responsibility of the whole of Davao City, not only us in this area. We are the ones suffering from all the plastic waste and the floodwaters,” he stressed.
Natural catch basin
Eduardo Jose Vergara, chair of Brgy. 20-B, said Veloso Street functionally acts as a natural catch basin for structural runoff, and the heavily impacted areas most vulnerable to severe overflows are the Veloso Canal and the low-lying Porras Street, Lacson Street (specifically the stretch extending from Sobrecarey to Porras) and the Nicasio Torres Extension.
“If intense rain persists continuously for roughly three hours, the water levels will swell significantly, causing immediate canal overflows that can reach knee-deep levels or submerge vehicles,” he told this reporter.
The bulk of the floodwater volume rushing into the Veloso drainage network descends from high-elevation or hilly terrains, primarily originating from Garcia Heights, Davao Medical School Foundation and Buhangin.
Vergara said heavy rains cause severe, long-lasting floods that take a substantial amount of time to recede, but due to recent drainage interventions, it typically subsides within 30 minutes after a heavy downpour.
In 2020, the DPWH Davao City District Engineering Office received an allocation of P64.95 million for the construction of flood mitigation structure or construction of drainage at Veloso St. sourced from DWPH national office General Appropriations Act 2020.
P80 million
Vergara said when he assumed the post in 2023, the drainage was already existing, but work was halted due to funding constraints.
“I don’t know if the national government will provide a budget for the allocation, because when we had a talk with DPWH district, they say they have the proposal but that is subject for approval,” he stressed.
In 2024, Vergara said DPWH first district presented to the barangay an P80 million budget for the completion of a covered canal drainage system and accompanying roadwork traversing Veloso–Porras, and Veloso–Cervantes.
“They sought funds from the DPWH national office, but it is subject for approval. However, their words were, they cannot continue the drainage project, because of the lack of sufficient funds if they target the P80 million,” he said.
He said the P80 million is still pending approval. He is not privy if it covers the initial works which started in 2020 with a fund of P64.95 million, and assumed this might include drainage rehabilitation or improvement.
The existing Veloso drainage lines are heavily congested with soil, silt, and overgrown grass, and the open, uncompleted portions of the drainage line require urgent desilting to restore optimal flow capacity.
Vergara said during flood events, the overflowing water carries a heavy mix of silt, soil, generic garbage, and discarded plastic PET bottles.
MRF and MRS
The barangay does not operate a full-scale Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). Instead, it utilizes three Material Recovery Stations (MRS), a smaller collection point with individual compartments for recyclables such as plastics, cans, bottles, among others, located at key collection points along the corners of New Burgos- Cervantes streets, New Burgos–N. Torres, Burgos–Cervantes, and in front of the Barangay Hall.
While the barangay conducts regular clean-up drives to mitigate the blockages, the core issue is rooted in community discipline and waste education.
“Even with warning billboards posted, some residents still improperly dispose of garbage and plastic bottles directly into open waterways. A stricter residual waste segregation is necessary to prevent recurring clogging,” he stressed.
City drowning in its own waste
Davao City generates more garbage than it can contain. This became more evident during the flooding on May 18, 2026 when various parts of the city including Sandawa, Jerome and R. Castillo, were submerged in floodwater and garbage.
The moderate to heavy rains brought about by weather disturbances from combined Easterlies and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), triggered knee-deep to waist-deep flood. Residents had no navigate the streets as the floodwaters rose along with plastic waste and other debris.
Waste generation: half a kilo per person per day
According to the 2017 Waste Analysis and Characterization Study (WACS) of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), the average per capita waste generation is about 0.58 kg per personper day.
By 2024, waste generation dropped slightly to 0.51 kg per person per day, which means individuals were producing less waste.
Lakandiwa Orcullo, division chief of Ecological Waste Management Division of CENRO said the waste analysis was conducted at source, or the household and business establishments.
“We wondered why it has reduced, considering the city is more developed now, but we think our advocacy which is waste reduction, might have worked,” Orcullo said.
More people, more garbage
But because the population grew from 1.7 million in 2017 to nearly 2 million in 2024, the total daily waste actually increased from 991 tons in 2017 to 1,005 tons in 2024. More people means more garbage overall.
In 2017, at least 80% of the waste came from residential, but by 2024, residential solid waste dropped to 53%, with commercial sources (malls, markets, restaurants) rising sharply to 34%.
Orcullo said this shift suggests that as Davao grows economically, businesses and commercial activity are generating an increasingly significant share of the waste, affecting the overall waste composition of the city.
He said projections put total solid waste at around 1,209 tons per day in 2027 considering a projected increase in population reaching 2,803,697.
The actual average of disposal has nearly doubled over the past decade and a half — from around 400 tons per day in 2010 to more than 750 tons per day in 2025.
The projected increase in waste generation was based on 2017 WACS (data from 10-Year Solid Waste Management Plan (2018-2027) based on Davao population per 2015 Census (1,708,109).
Davao City’s population is1,848,947 according to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2024 Census of Population.
The accumulated waste volume has been growing steadily every year with no sign of slowing down. (Nova Mae Francas / Mindanao Times, for MindaNews)
(This story was produced with the support of Earth Journalism Network.)
Tomorrow: Sanitary Landfill
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