Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 11) — San MIguel Corporation is looking to ramp up its clearing operations of the Tullahan-Tinajeros River System this year, in a bid to reduce flooding in the area.
So far, SMC has removed 83,600 metric tons of trash and silt from the river since 2020, despite the challenges brought about by quarantine restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We extract about 600 metric tons of waste daily from the Tullahan, and at this rate, we expect to extract 100,000 metric tons in a month’s time. The relatively dry months of January to May gives us an opportunity to intensify the cleaning, deepening, and widening of the river so more areas can avoid flooding risks during the rainy season,” said SMC president and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang.
In 2019, SMC inked a deal with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to clean up the river system, which empties out to Manila Bay.
The clean-up project was launched in 2020, a ₱1-billion dredging project seen to solve flooding in parts of Metro Manila and Bulacan. SMC resumed the project in June, following the lifting of strict quarantine restrictions.
SMC is currently dredging the section from Barangay Tanong in Malabon City, to the mouth of the river leading to Manila Bay in Navotas City. A total of 1 million cubic meters is expected to be dredged in two years from the Navotas-Malabon section alone.
In parts of the river, depth has been reduced to only one or two meters because of debris, however, this is seen to ease because of the project, allowing it to receive a heavier volume of rain water.
“With Navotas and Malabon, we found out that the greater handling capacity of the Tullahan River — the result of our dredging activities — has allowed water from these cities’ pumping stations to be easily channeled to the river going to Manila Bay. This has reduced large-scale flooding in these areas even during the previous typhoons that inundated many parts of Metro Manila and Luzon,” Ang said.
SMC plans to dredge, clean, widen, and deepen the Alipit or Taliptip River, Sta. Maria River, and the Meycauayan River as part of its flood mitigation strategy for the Manila International Airport that will also benefit the whole of Bulacan.
