A child watches a garbage-choked creek along A. Soriano Street in Barangay Carreta, Cebu City after a heavy downpour. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The persistent flooding in Cebu has been blamed on the community’s lack of discipline, which officials say is undermining the effectiveness of flood control measures.
This came after several areas in the province were inundated by heavy rains brought by the southwest monsoon (habagat) and a low-pressure area that began affecting Cebu on June 6 and is expected to continue until Wednesday, June 11.
The Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) made the statement during a news forum on Tuesday, June 10, as calls for better disaster preparedness mount amid worsening weather patterns.
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Engineer Wilson Ramos, Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer III, said that flood mitigation efforts, including desilting and drainage clearing, are conducted regularly before the onset of the rainy season.
However, these are often rendered ineffective due to residents’ continued improper waste disposal.
“Ang atoang problema man gud kay ang atong community. Unsay una nigawas sa mga drainage? Mga basura,” Ramos said.
“Bisag unsaon pa nato ug desilting, kung pataka lag labay ug basura ang katawhan, [wala gihapon],” he added.
Similar problems have been identified in Cebu City’s major rivers, where household waste and human activities are threatening freshwater systems.
According to the 2025 River Assessment Report released by the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO), many rivers are now classified as biologically dead or in critical condition.
The report flagged untreated wastewater, detergent sachets, and organic debris as among the top household pollutants clogging the city’s waterways.
It also cited other contributing factors such as deforestation, industrial waste discharge, and agricultural runoff.
“Even the cleanest rivers, if left unprotected, will eventually be polluted,” the report warned.
In a 2024 report by CDN Digital, Engineer Maria Nenita Jumao-as of the University of San Carlos – Water Resources Center Foundation Inc. (WRCFI) emphasized that flooding in Cebu cannot be attributed to a single cause.
READ: Rising waters, rising concerns: Cebu City’s ‘worsening’ flood crisis
“When asked about the causes of flooding in Cebu, I cannot give a straightforward answer because there are many factors involved,” she said.
Among the causes she cited for flooding in Cebu were clogged drainage systems, lack of regular maintenance, rapid urbanization, deforestation, improper waste disposal, and weak enforcement of environmental laws.
WRCFI is a Cebu-based private research institution providing technical assistance on water resource management to both government and private sector agencies.
The issue of public discipline has also been raised on the national level. In a 2023 public briefing, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Lord Villanueva said that “disiplina” remains a key missing factor in solving flood problems in Metro Manila.
“I have a one-word answer for you, and that’s disiplina,” Villanueva said. “Disiplina, I think, ang napakakulang sa ating mga mamamayan ngayon.”