Manila, Sept. 19 -- Officials of this strawberry-producing and highland vegetable trading capital have appealed to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to exempt the municipality from the 2026 ban on fresh allocations for flood control projects.

Mayor Roderick Awingan on Wednesday said the town needs funding support for four major projects designed to mitigate flooding in barangays Bayabas, Pico, Puguis, and Km. 3.

The projects involve the improvement of drainage systems, construction of waterways and the widening of creeks leading to the Bolo Creek and the Balili river, the only two major water outlets of the town.

The mayor said that without the national government's backing, the programs of work for flood control would be difficult to ...