Sophon ordered Parliament to urgently resolve flooding problems after discovering inappropriate design and undersized drainage pipes. He emphasized waste reduction and segregation measures and boasted that electricity-saving measures are genuinely effective.
At 09:20 on 22 May 2026 at the Parliament, Mr. Sophon Sarum, Speaker of the House of Representatives, spoke about the flooding caused by heavy rain on 21 May in the underground parking lot at level B1 near the waste storage area, where trash was seen floating everywhere. He said people assumed construction was the problem, but he did not confirm this and went to inspect personally. He observed that the heavy rain caused water to flow down from the car ramp on level 1 to level B1, but the drainage pipes were too small to handle the volume, leading to slow drainage. When he inspected every floor, especially level 9, an open area where water collects, he found the drainage pipes were undersized and could not handle heavy rain, resulting in flooding. He ordered corrections to prevent recurrence because some designs were inappropriate, such as emergency exit areas lacking roofing. He is working to fix these issues to avoid repeated problems.
"I have emphasized waste management and held meetings with parliamentary administrative officials. Going forward, we will implement concrete waste segregation measures. During parliamentary and Senate sessions, a large amount of waste is generated, so this requires serious attention starting from waste segregation. We also request cooperation in separating waste. These measures will become stricter. Regarding electricity-saving measures, I will report figures comparing electricity use before and after implementing these measures. Preliminary findings show the measures can genuinely reduce electricity costs." Mr. Sophon said.