Naujan municipality declared a state of calamity Tuesday after its worst flooding this year submerged 45 of 70 barangays, officials said.

Tropical Storm Verbena caused the Mag-Asawang Tubig River to overflow, affecting thousands of residents in Oriental Mindoro province.

The declaration allows the local government to access emergency funds for relief.

Provincial disaster officials reported 14,268 families, or 51,720 people, were affected in 95 barangays in the province. Rescue teams evacuated residents from rising floodwaters. Agricultural damage is estimated at P58 million.

Vincent Gahol, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, linked the severe flooding to longstanding issues with river overflows.

The massive flooding precedes a national investigation into flood control projects in the area.

In November 2025, the Ombudsman filed graft and malversation charges against former Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co, several Department of Public Works and Highways Mimaropa officials and directors of Sunwest Corp.

The charges, filed with the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court, involve a P289-million-peso road dike along the Mag-Asawang Tubig River funded under the 2024 national budget. Investigators allege the project used substandard materials.

At least eight DPWH officials are in government custody on arrest warrants issued in late November 2025, including the former DPWH Mimaropa regional director.

The Philippine National Police and National Bureau of Investigation are searching for Sunwest officials and Co, who reportedly fled abroad.