SABLAYAN, Occidental Mindoro — Residents in flood-hit communities are pressing the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for urgent repairs and accountability after flood-control structures in Sablayan failed during weeks of heavy rain, leaving homes and farmland exposed to another round of flooding.
The renewed appeal comes as Sablayan struggles to recover from a disaster that has affected all 22 barangays, damaged critical infrastructure and pushed losses in the municipality to roughly ₱1.4 billion. The town has been placed under a state of calamity.
The controversy has become particularly acute in Barangay Tagumpay, where a flood-control structure designed to keep river water away from the community gave way after continuous rains.
GMA News reported that the damaged section stretched an estimated 300 to 500 meters. Barangay officials said the breach allowed water to rush into nearby communities while sand from the structure’s foundation was carried into the river and surrounding rice fields.
Residents question how a flood-defense project became another hazard
Instead of providing protection, residents say the failed structure left their community more vulnerable.
Barangay Tagumpay Chairman Victor Bautista Fabros alleged that the contractor failed to complete portions of the project and questioned the quality of some of the materials exposed after the structure collapsed. These remain allegations by local officials and residents and have not, on their own, established wrongdoing.
Barangay officials identified Sunwest Corporation as the contractor involved in the Tagumpay project, according to GMA. The network said it sought comments from both the DPWH and Sunwest for that report but had not received responses at the time of publication.
The latest ABS-CBN report, published on August 29, says residents are again calling on the DPWH to act on collapsed flood-control projects in Sablayan.
Damage goes far beyond one collapsed structure
The Tagumpay failure is only part of a much larger disaster.
According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sablayan’s final damage assessment placed losses at around ₱1.433 billion. Infrastructure accounted for approximately ₱1.38 billion, covering flood-control structures, roads, bridges and seawalls.
Flood-control damage in Tagumpay, Claudio Salgado and Victoria alone exceeded ₱1.17 billion, according to the same assessment.
Agriculture suffered another ₱53.33 million in losses, affecting roughly 1,586 hectares planted with rice, corn and other high-value crops. Livestock, poultry, fishing boats and homes were also damaged.
The Philippine Information Agency reported an even clearer picture of the human impact: around 67,200 people — roughly 66 percent of Sablayan’s population — were affected by weather disturbances between August 5 and August 20.
Strong currents — but questions over construction remain
Local officials acknowledge that the structures faced extraordinary pressure.
Sablayan Municipal Administrator Norman Novio said sustained rainfall and increased river discharge produced powerful currents, scouring and erosion along riverbanks, weakening protection systems already in place.
That weather explanation, however, has not ended questions over why some structures failed — particularly projects residents claim were unfinished or deteriorated unusually quickly.
Reports from other parts of Sablayan described damage along the Amnay and Patrick river systems, while Occidental Mindoro officials have called for broader inspection of flood-control projects across the province.
DPWH promises repairs and contractor accountability
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon has publicly said contractors responsible for damaged projects in Occidental Mindoro would be pursued and that repairs should not impose an additional cost on the government.
Local reports quoted Dizon saying the damaged structures would be repaired and contractors held accountable.
That commitment is now the crucial issue for residents.
With communities still exposed during the rainy season, the immediate question is no longer simply who designed or constructed the flood defenses. It is how quickly damaged sections can be secured before another major rise in the rivers puts the same barangays underwater again.
And beyond emergency repairs lies a larger accountability question: whether investigations will determine if the failures were caused solely by extreme weather, defective construction, incomplete work, inadequate engineering — or a combination of those factors.
Until those questions are answered, residents of Sablayan are being asked to rely on flood-control structures whose failure has already shown just how costly a breakdown can become.
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