Office of the Secretary, Department of Public Works and Highways
A regular, sustained flood-mitigation and maintenance program — restoring the carrying capacity of waterways, drainage, and flood facilities from ridge to reef.
01Policy basis
Issued 4 September 2026 under Presidential Directive No. PBBM-2025-1777–1780 (19 November 2025) and DPWH Special Order No. 06, s. 2026. OKB is the Department's coordinated, risk-based mechanism — from finding a problem to keeping it fixed.
02Guiding principles
Every OKB decision — where to work, how, and with whom — is tested against these principles from the memorandum.
Principle A
Hydrologic interconnection from uplands and watersheds through rivers, floodplains, and estuaries to coastal areas. Interventions must consider both upstream and downstream conditions so flooding or siltation is not transferred from one community to another.
Principle B
Coordinated action among DPWH offices, national agencies, LGUs, the private sector, communities, and other stakeholders — each respecting respective mandates and accountabilities.
Principle C
Resources go where they can reduce flood risk and protect public safety the most — considering population affected, critical facilities, hydraulic functionality, and operational urgency.
Principle D
Periodic and preventive care is preferred over reactive work after flooding. Maintenance is a continuous cycle, not a one-time clearing event.
Principle E
Planning and deployment rest on field inspection, measurements, geotagged photographs, flood information, and equipment records.
Principle F
Reporting must be accurate, consistent, and verifiable — grounded in measurable data, field conditions, and documented operations.
Principle G
Operations comply with environmental laws on water and solid waste, easements, disposal, occupational safety, and permitting.
Principle H
Maintenance restores function but does not replace large-scale structural flood control. Complex issues are referred for engineering or policy action.
03Objectives
Restore and maintain the carrying capacity of waterways, drainage systems, and flood-control facilities.
Remove silt, solid waste, debris, vegetation, and other obstructions that impede water flow.
Reduce the duration, extent, frequency, and impacts of flooding through maintenance and operations.
Institutionalize regular, preventive, and condition-based maintenance instead of reacting after floods.
Establish a systematic, objective, and risk-based mechanism for identifying and prioritizing interventions.
Promote coordinated action among DPWH offices, agencies, LGUs, private partners, and communities.
Treat solid waste management and environmental protection as integral to sustainable flood mitigation.
Establish uniform, measurable, accurate, and verifiable accomplishment and performance indicators.
Strengthen monitoring of completed works and set maintenance cycles that prevent recurrence.
Elevate structural, jurisdictional, and environmental conditions that regular OKB operations cannot solve.
04Scope of interventions
Tap a field to see what crews do there and the equipment they bring.
Field 1 of 6 · 5 activities
Land- and water-based equipment — amphibious excavators, dredgers, trash skimmers, and cutter suction dredgers — with manpower for multiple operational shifts.
05Governance
Clear lines from the Secretary to the District Engineering Offices doing the work, with support across the Department.
Overall policy direction and supervision. Handles major policy, resource requirements, and issues that need Department-level or inter-agency action.
Principal coordinating and oversight mechanism under Special Order No. 06, s. 2026 — priorities, equipment mobilization, uniform standards, consolidated reporting, and recommendations to the Secretary.
Coordinates overall implementation of OKB through authorities assigned by Special Order.
Secretariat, technical, monitoring, administrative, and coordination support — consolidating reports, maintaining program data, and preparing situation and accomplishment reports.
Regional OKB Task Group Commander: supervision, validation of priorities, coordination among District Engineering Offices, resource augmentation, and elevation of unresolved needs.
Principal field implementing units — assessment, intervention planning, authorized works, stakeholder coordination, records, post-intervention inspection, and referral of matters beyond mandate.
Technical, equipment, administrative, financial, legal, procurement, logistical, and other support to field operations.
06Operational cycle
Tap a stage to walk the cycle used by District Engineering Offices, Regional Task Groups, and the OKB Task Force.
Cycle
Continuous operations
Stage 1 of 8
Field inspections, flood history, DPWH reports, LGU requests, government directives, and official information systems.
07Performance
Performance is not measured solely by the number of personnel or equipment deployed.
What crews deliver
What communities feel
08Preventive and periodic maintenance
From the calendar to the emergency call — maintenance never stops at one clearing.
On schedule
Regularly scheduled cleaning and minor repairs.
Before the rains
Preventive actions taken before heavy rainfall.
After typhoons
Clearing after typhoons or major flooding.
At critical levels
Triggered when monitoring shows siltation or obstruction has reached a critical level.
Immediately
Immediate response to imminent threats to public safety or infrastructure.
09Whole-of-nation
Each partner keeps its own mandate — together they keep one river system flowing.
One waterway
Ridge to reef
Technical assessment, planning, implementation, equipment and manpower, and monitoring.
Local drainage and waterway support, waste source control, access, traffic, community coordination, and local ordinances.
Permits, technical assistance, environmental safeguards, logistics, and utilities coordination.
Information sharing, mobilization, site access, and waste reduction — without transferring statutory mandates.
10Living framework
An OKB information and data-management system supports planning, resource allocation, and monitoring of recurring hotspots, and the Task Force periodically evaluates implementation.
For information and strict implementation
Vivencio B. Dizon
Secretary
