The Japanese command, however, decided to dig in and defend Manila to the last man when American military forces closed on Manila from the north by early 1945. The decision of the American military could have spared the mighty battle of Manila. Public works standards and bureaucracies suffered badly and the regulation and upkeep of facilities deteriorated. An outcome of this was confused implementation of public works between roads, transport networks, and flood control management. The failure of standards was obviously an outcome of the experience and trauma of war destruction.

Source: Philippine Star February 19, 2019 16:01 UTC