AFTER the severe flooding in Las Piñas City over the weekend due to the southwest monsoon, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to revisit the long-delayed spillway project.
During the inspection of the high-vacuum self-priming drainage trailer pump at the Alido Bridge in the Zapote River on Monday, Marcos said the government must fast-track the completion of the spillway, a project stalled for more than a decade, to provide a permanent outlet for floodwater in Metro Manila.
“That plan has been in the works for more than 10 years, but for whatever reason, it wasn’t finalized — and now, we need to get it done. So, I have given instructions to Secretary Vince: let’s revisit the plans and see if anything needs to be changed,” he said in Filipino.
The proposed Spillway Project is a 10.5-kilometer underground tunnel that will link Laguna Lake with Manila Bay.
The deep tunnel, estimated to cost P90 billion, will run 50 to 77 meters deep, passing through Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Parañaque, and Bacoor, to prevent serious flooding along the lakeshore.
The president noted that recent dredging efforts helped mitigate flooding along the area caused by monsoon rain over the weekend, reducing flood levels from chest-deep in previous years to below knee-deep.
Marcos attributed long-standing flooding problems in Metro Manila to a 12-year moratorium on river dredging, which allowed silt and debris to accumulate in major rivers and spillways.
Addressing secondary causes of urban flooding, Marcos pointed to massive amounts of floating garbage clogging drainage channels in neighboring Parañaque City, where high tides trapped waste washed in from other municipalities.
He appealed to local government units (LGUs) and the public to practice proper waste disposal, warning that improper trash management severely compromises flood-control infrastructure.
To address the waste issue in the long term, Marcos reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to implementing a waste-to-energy (WtE) program to convert garbage to electricity while maintaining continuous desilting and dredging operations nationwide.
“That will likely take only a short time since the technology involved is already well-established. However, we are continuing our ongoing efforts — addressing illegal contracting and flood control — as well as our projects that include dredging operations in collaboration with the LGUs; we will soon see the results of these initiatives,” he said.
Marcos also urged the public to be responsible in their waste disposal.
Meanwhile, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro expressed alarm over massive amounts of garbage that clearing operations by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have uncovered along Manila Bay in Parañaque City.
“It is truly shocking... this is one of the reasons we can see for the water not flowing through the conduit,” Castro said in Filipino.
She noted, however, that despite government efforts to mitigate flooding, infrastructure projects alone cannot solve Metro Manila’s flooding if citizens continue to throw garbage indiscriminately.
“The government cannot afford to work hard while our countrymen are becoming more and more careless. Then they will point out who is at fault,” Castro stated, urging local village officials to strictly enforce waste management laws and utilize CCTV monitoring to catch violators.
