SECOND District Rep. Mark Cojuangco clarified in a statement his recent social media post regarding the recent flooding in Cebu, emphasizing that his comments were taken out of context and never meant to blame the victims of the tragedy.

“I grieve with the families in Cebu. Nakikiramay po ako,” Cojuangco said in a statement released on November 12. He explained that his reaction was based on a video showing what appeared to be engineering flaws in a drainage channel adjacent to a residential area.

“The video I reacted shows, in the final seconds, a housing area beside a drainage channel that appears broken, higher than the surrounding homes, and too narrow for peak flows,” he said.

Cojuangco added that based on what’s visible in that video, “that apparent engineering failure likely contributed to the deadly surge; something a proper review should confirm.”

Cojuangco stressed that his intent was not to assign blame but to highlight the need for lessons and preventive action. “My point was never to blame the victims. It was to learn from what went wrong, so we can prevent it from happening again,” he said.

He added that government officials, developers, and planners share the responsibility to ensure that housing and infrastructure projects are located and designed safely, guided by hazard maps and sound engineering principles. “Compassion and science must go together,” Cojuangco said.

The lawmaker also assured that immediate relief efforts are underway and that he is coordinating with engineers and local leaders to strengthen building standards and disaster preparedness measures.

He added, “We’re supporting relief today, and I’m working with engineers and local leaders on stronger standards so communities are future-proofed and families are safer when the next storm comes .”  (Eva Visperas)