Puerto Princesa Mayor Lucilo Bayron reported Monday that an unfinished flood control project in Barangay San Manuel helped prevent water from rising near the Ford Palawan area during heavy rain on Friday, August 14.
Bayron said he inspected the city’s drainage projects with engineers on Sunday and was informed that the San Manuel system had begun carrying rainwater even before its completion.
“Napakalakas ng ulan pero hindi umangat ang tubig doon sa may Ford area,” Bayron said during the city government’s flag-raising ceremony on August 17.
“Yung drainage system natin nag-work na although hindi pa siya 100% complete, nakakatulong na,” he added.
The project referred to by Bayron is the first phase of a flood control system within the San Manuel Catchment Area. It starts at the existing Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) outfall near Typoco, passes through a road and a private lot, and ends near the San Manuel Barangay Hall.
Rainwater from the Ford Palawan and Pagayona Road area is intended to pass through the drainage system before being discharged through the outfall near Typoco.
Construction began at the Typoco outfall to provide a continuous path for the flow of water. The section connecting the highway to the San Manuel Barangay Hall is intended for the project’s second phase.
The city awarded the first-phase project to the joint venture of L.B. Leoncio Trading and Construction Corporation and Palbic Construction Supply. It has a budget of more than ₱131 million and began during the third quarter of 2025, according to earlier reports and city procurement records.
The route is part of a revised project design that reduced the number of private properties that would be affected, allowing construction to proceed in 2025.
The project was 89.51% complete as of August 14, according to its latest status report.
This was an increase from 35.62% in January 2026 and 9.06% on October 10, 2025. Work included slope protection, construction of a lined canal, and the installation of steel bars and concrete slabs for a box culvert.
Bayron said the initial result indicated that the project’s strategy and design were working.
“Nakakatuwa na mukhang tama yung strategy, yung design ng ating engineers,” he said.
But he also raised a safety concern because part of the box culvert is being constructed beneath the road.
“Sabi ko sana lang walang mahulog na sasakyan dahil yung culvert natin nasa ilalim ng kalsada,” Bayron said.
The mayor did not mention the project’s target completion date during his remarks.
San Manuel has long been among Puerto Princesa’s flood-prone urban communities. In October 2021, flooding was recorded near the intersection of the North National Highway and New Market Road.
The area was again affected in February 2025 when 150 millimeters of rain fell in Puerto Princesa within four hours, forcing families in San Manuel and other barangays to evacuate.
The ₱131-million catchment project is one of several drainage systems planned for San Manuel.
In December 2025, the city government started a separate ₱79.77-million flood control and drainage project connecting Matahimik to Purok Buhanginan.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod also approved additional funding in 2026 for a ₱189-million San Manuel Catchment Area drainage system with a sidewalk and ₱110 million for the second phase of the Matahimik-to-Purok Buhanginan drainage system.
These planned and ongoing projects form part of at least ₱655 million allocated for drainage and flood control works in several urban areas of Puerto Princesa.
