MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Poor urban planning that saw housing estates and shantytowns spring up near reservoirs and lakes is partly to blame for massive flooding that has killed nearly 300 in the Philippines, officials said Tuesday.

"There have been lapses and omissions in the proper gear shifts in urban planning - that we have to admit," President Gloria Arroyo's spokesman Cerge Remonde said in a statement.

The widespread devastation wrought by Tropical Storm Ketsana and Typhoon Parma "suggests the urgency of re-planning for Metro Manila, the country's overly populated industrial and education bosom," Remonde said.

He said there were "disturbing facts" that need to be addressed, including an insufficient drainage system, inadequate waterways, uncontrolled housing development, and the proliferation of informal settlers mostly on riverbanks.

"We need as well to upgrade the facilities for effective and efficient weather forecasting," Remonde said.

Ketsana dumped a month's worth of rain over Manila within a few hours on September 26, triggering the country's heaviest flooding in 40 years, and affecting nearly four million people.

Parma, which slammed into northern Luzon island eight days later, ruined vast rice fields. The combined death toll stands at over 300.

In the aftermath of the floods, Arroyo admitted state disaster response mechanisms have been overwhelmed, earning her severe criticism.

She has appealed for international aid, and declared the entire country a disaster zone.

Remonde on Tuesday called on the private sector and critics to roll up their sleeves and work with government get past the crisis.