Renowned architect and urban planner Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr. stressed that flood control should not be treated as a standalone project but as part of a broader, integrated approach to urban development.
Speaking at a Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines–Mindanao event on Thursday, Palafox emphasized that addressing flooding effectively requires a well-coordinated urban plan encompassing land use, zoning, transportation, and essential public facilities such as water supply, sewerage, education, and healthcare.
“We should plan from ridge to reef — from the mountaintops to the coastlines,” he said, underscoring the need to align flood control efforts with the natural landscape and ecosystem.
Palafox also urged local governments to adopt rainwater harvesting systems, a practice widely used in more progressive cities around the world.
“They collect rainwater from rooftops and recycle it for irrigation and firefighting. We should adopt that,” he added.
He warned that many of the Philippines’ drainage and sewerage systems are outdated and undersized, making them ill-equipped to handle the increasing intensity of typhoons and rainfall events.
“Our drainage lines are about 70 percent undersized — maybe more. Nationwide, it’s around 75 percent. The design criteria we still use may already be obsolete,” Palafox said.
To build more resilient and livable cities, he called on both national and local governments to update flood control standards and implement long-term, climate-responsive urban planning strategies.
“Flood control is not just about building bigger drains — it’s about building smarter cities,” Palafox concluded.
