Environmental advocacy group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) has urged the national government to adopt long-term, science-based solutions to flooding and waste management, saying the country must address the root causes of these problems instead of relying on more flood-control infrastructure and waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration.
In a statement issued in reaction to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.‘s 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA), IDIS welcomed the administration’s recognition of corruption in flood-control projects, worsening flood risks, waste pollution, and the need to strengthen disaster resilience.
However, the group stressed that these issues require concrete reforms.
“The President’s report must be followed by concrete reforms that address the root causes of these interconnected crises, not merely their symptoms,” IDIS said.
According to IDIS, flooding is driven not only by inadequate infrastructure but also by degraded watersheds, the loss of natural waterways, poor land-use planning, weak urban planning, and the continued dumping of waste into rivers and creeks.
IDIS Executive Director Atty. Mark Peñalver said flood management must combine infrastructure with environmental protection.
“Flood control must be grounded in science, transparency, and ecological protection. The government must ensure that infrastructure projects are necessary, properly designed, appropriately priced, and responsive to actual hydrological and environmental conditions,” Peñalver said.
The group also opposed WTE incineration, saying it does not solve the country’s growing waste problem and could undermine efforts to reduce, segregate, recycle, and compost waste.
“Waste-to-energy projects that rely on burning municipal solid waste do not address the root causes of waste generation,” IDIS said.
IDIS also raised concerns over large-scale projects such as the proposed Pax Silica industrial hub, saying development should not come at the expense of the environment.
“The government cannot simultaneously speak of building climate resilience while pursuing development that may place additional pressure on already vulnerable ecosystems and communities,” the group said.
IDIS emphasized that sustainable development must balance economic growth with ecosystem protection.
“We cannot solve one environmental crisis by creating another,” IDIS said.
The group added that lasting resilience requires protecting forests, watersheds, rivers, and wetlands.
The group also stressed that “resilience cannot be built through concrete alone, and the waste crisis cannot be solved by burning waste.”
