The Democrat Party criticized the government for ineffective flood management, mocking that despite reviewing lessons from three flood events, all efforts have failed.
On 30 Sep 2026 GMT+7, at the parliament during an urgent debate on flood mitigation, Pittakdech Dechdecho, a Democrat MP from Nakhon Si Thammarat, pointed out the government’s repeated failure in water management. He noted that in the 27th parliamentary session, motions to learn from floods were raised three times: first in Hat Yai District, likened to removing a shirt; second in Nan Province, like removing pants; and third in Bangkok and its vicinity, compared to removing underwear. Yet ultimately, the outcomes were ineffective, lacking early warning systems and coordination, leaving citizens to face the consequences alone.
Pittakdech also criticized the ruling coalition’s election promise of a disaster fund that would use AI technology to immediately pay 100,000 baht per household in relief, but in reality only paid 9,000 baht. He added that the prime minister’s measure of distributing 1,000 baht was merely to avoid criticism and did not genuinely solve the problem.
Furthermore, the Democrat MP pointed out that Bangkok’s flooding reflected a lack of integrated response to the "three waters"—rainwater, upstream water, and tidal surges—among government agencies including the Meteorological Department, Royal Irrigation Department, National Water Resources Office, and Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. He criticized a high-ranking official, the Deputy Prime Minister, for claiming the situation was "under control," which caused public misunderstanding. With the bureaucracy failing to provide support, Pittakdech held up a talisman in parliament, named the "Rat-Proof Talisman, model ‘Floods Uncontrollable but Rats Still Cheerful,’" symbolizing irresponsible management forcing people to rely on spiritual protection instead.