After the Great Flood: Aklan’s P2.1 Billion Investment to Protect Against Another Typhoon Frank — But Is It Enough?

By : Guillermo Sumbiling/photo by Randy Rebaldo

Sixteen years ago this week, Aklan woke up to one of its darkest moments.

On June 21, 2008, Typhoon Frank (international name: Fengshen) unleashed its fury over Western Visayas. But for Aklanons, it was not just another typhoon — it was the great flood that submerged homes, businesses, farms, and livelihoods across the province.

Kalibo town center turned into a lake. In Banga, Malinao, Numancia, Libacao, and Madalag, rushing floodwaters swept through communities unprepared for the scale of the disaster. Thousands of residents were forced to flee, while crops, roads, bridges, and public facilities suffered billions of pesos in damages. For many Aklanons, the flood of Typhoon Frank is remembered not only for its destruction, but for how it changed the province’s relationship with its river.

In the years that followed, government engineers, planners, and national agencies faced a difficult but necessary question: How do we stop this from happening again?

The Cost of Protection: P2.1 Billion in Public Investment

The answer came in the form of one of Aklan’s largest infrastructure undertakings in recent history — the multi-year Aklan River Flood Control Project.

According to data from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region VI, the national government invested P2.1 billion from 2021 to 2025 to construct an extensive system of dikes, reventment walls, and slope protections along the Aklan River basin. From the upland town of Libacao down to Kalibo, the system was designed to guard against future overflows that once paralyzed the province.

Stretching across multiple towns and barangays, these massive concrete and steel defenses now shield communities that, for decades, lived in fear of every incoming storm.

For residents, the impact has been visible. Areas that once experienced seasonal flooding now enjoy greater security during heavy rains. Farmlands stay productive, roads remain passable, and businesses feel a little safer under the towering dikes that flank the mighty Aklan River.

The people’s taxes have clearly delivered something tangible.

The Unfinished Challenge: The River Is Still Alive

Yet, as the concrete walls rise, another problem quietly builds.

The Aklan River, like any major water system, remains dynamic — constantly carrying silt, sediment, and debris from the upland watersheds down to the lowlands. Experts now warn that years of accumulated siltation at the mouth of the river have slowly reduced its capacity to discharge floodwaters effectively.

Without aggressive and regular dredging, these sediments will continue to raise the riverbed, pushing floodwaters outward into low-lying communities — regardless of how high the dikes may stand.

“Building dikes solves part of the problem,” says an environmental engineer familiar with flood control design. “But if you allow the river mouth to clog, you’re simply raising the water level higher upstream. Nature will eventually find another way to flow — sometimes through our streets and homes.”

The challenge does not stop there. Unregulated land use near waterways continues to choke floodplains. Upstream, watershed degradation from illegal logging and farming intensifies erosion, sending more soil into the river system. Meanwhile, the coastal zones that receive the river’s waters also face growing stress from improper mangrove rehabilitation, coastal reclamation, and unsupervised development.

Mangrove planting, while important, must be science-based, experts emphasize. Poorly placed mangroves near river mouths can narrow outflow channels, potentially worsening inland floods instead of preventing them.

Protecting the Billions Already Spent

The concern now goes beyond engineering — it is about protecting the massive investment already poured into Aklan’s flood protection.

The P2.1 billion spent so far represents not just concrete structures but the hard-earned resources of the nation’s taxpayers.Without proper management of the entire Aklan River Basin — from mountain to sea — that investment risks being slowly undermined.

As one local official candidly puts it: “We cannot afford to treat this as an engineering problem alone. It’s an environmental, ecological, and planning challenge. If we fail to manage the river, we will be forced to rebuild these dikes again at much higher cost.”

A Call for Balanced and Science-Based Action

Local leaders, environmental groups, business chambers, and concerned citizens now call for a comprehensive, science-based River Basin Management Program for Aklan. Among their key recommendations:
• Immediate dredging and de-siltation at the Aklan River mouth;
• Strict protection and rehabilitation of upstream watersheds to reduce erosion;
• Land use control and zoning enforcement in flood-prone communities;
• Mangrove rehabilitation based on scientific studies, ensuring that coastal buffers help — not hinder — flood management;
• Continuous monitoring and expert-guided planning to adapt to changing climate realities.

The Lessons of Typhoon Frank Still Speak

As the 2025 typhoon season begins, Aklan stands at a critical moment.

Sixteen years after Typhoon Frank, Aklanons have much to be grateful for — and much still to prepare for. Billions have been spent to protect the province. But nature remains unpredictable. The river continues to move. The question is whether leaders will act now to balance engineering with environmental management — or wait until another Frank forces another painful lesson.