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Rainier Allan Ronda - The Philippine Star
September 9, 2026 | 12:00am
Motorists pile up in heavy traffic as some passengers walk along the NLEX to get to a nearby gas station at San Simon in Pampanga on Aug. 31, 2026.
The Philippine STAR / Miguel de Guzman
MANILA, Philippines — The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) is now fully open to vehicular traffic with the completion by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) of initial structural works to prevent monsoon-induced heavy flooding, the latest of which lasted for days and left traffic at a standstill, especially along the San Simon and Tulaoc Bridge sections.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said emergency engineering task forces, working together with NLEX Corp. and San Miguel Corp. (SMC), completed the installation of reinforced steel sheet piles along vulnerable embankment gaps to prevent river overflows from spilling onto the tollway.
“Phase 1 is now complete. With sheet pile containment structures firmly in place, we are confident that this critical trade segment is protected even if river levels rise or high tides hit Manila Bay in the coming weeks,” Dizon told reporters during an inspection of the area yesterday.
In Pampanga, at least 7,343 families or 26,322 people remain in evacuation centers as flooding continues to affect communities across the province, according to the latest report of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).
The figure was recorded in 415 evacuation centers across the province. Santo Tomas town recorded 1,112 families or 3,951 people staying in seven evacuation centers. Bacolor has 663 families or 2,516 people in 15 centers.
The local government of Guagua reported 382 families or 1,334 people in 43 evacuation centers.
Outside the evacuation centers, 329 families or 1,122 people in Guagua and 24 families or 112 people in Porac are staying in safe places.
The provincial government said it has been providing potable water, managing evacuation centers, deploying water purifiers and distributing food packs to affected communities.
The PDRRMO report covers the combined effects of Tropical Depressions Luis, Maymay and Neneng, Tropical Storm Pilandok and the southwest monsoon.
Damage to agriculture due to the southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones last month has breached P4 billion, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Based on the final bulletin of the DA, the damage to agriculture including fisheries was at P4.38 billion.
This affected 99,663 farmers and fisherfolk, covering 81,511 hectares of agricultural areas and 102,791 metric tons of production losses. – Ric Sapnu, Josiah Antonio
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