In Malabon, this multimillion flood control project is just a thin river wall

MANILA, Philippines – A thin river wall, found to be only a few inches wide, can be seen along the Tullahan River in White Lily, Barangay Potrero, Malabon, despite substantial funding. 

Residents say the wall, marked completed just two years ago, does little to protect them during heavy rain, with floodwaters running above residents’ homes, causing some houses to collapse and personal belongings to be destroyed.

The river wall was implemented in four phases, commencing in April 2016 with a budget of P45 million. In 2023, reports from the Department of Public Works and Highways showed that it even underwent rehabilitation with a budget of P7.9 million and was already completed by July of the same year.

However, when Rappler visited the site on October 26, 2025, it found the river wall was still unfinished and poorly built, with only a small portion of the flood wall constructed and the steel bars serving as its foundation already rusting. 

The site visit was prompted by a Rappler app user’s report in the FloodControlPH chat room, where they flagged the disjointed and ineffective construction along the river. Watch this video to know more about this flood control project in Malabon.

This video was produced by Rappler interns Paolo Cootauco and Maria Czietherine Paghunasan, and Rappler Mover Angela Ballerda.

Is there a flood control project in your area you want to flag? If you spot any flood control projects in your area, snap a photo of them and send it to the FloodControlPH chat room on the Rappler app. – Rappler.com

Paolo Cootauco is a Rappler intern from University of Santo Tomas. He is a fourth year student taking up Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

Maria Czietherine Paghunasan is a Rappler volunteer and a graduating BA Communication student at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. She is a multimedia artist, with cartoons and comics published on Naver Webtoon Korea and in The Communiqué, the official publication of PLM College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.

Angela Ballerda is a Mover, or a Rappler civic engagement volunteer, from Las Piñas City. She is a campus journalist at Ateneo de Manila University, currently serving as the broadcast news producer of The GUIDON.