Keeping our head above water

      

Flooded streets are one major cause of traffic congestion in Metro Manila, as we witnessed recently when a late-evening thunderstorm unleashed torrential rain that inundated parts of EDSA and other major thoroughfares, turning them into parking lots well into the night and even to the wee hours the next day.

But what is the government doing to alleviate the flooding problem in the metropolis? 

As a matter of fact, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is rushing the completion of two major flood control projects in Metro Manila worth over P1.2 billion before President Aquino ends his term in June 2016.

These projects are the P600-million Blumentritt Interceptor Catchment Area Project and the P609-million Mandaluyong Main Drainage Project.  These are expected to be completed in March and June 2016, respectively.

The construction of the two flood control projects, which began in 2013, has taken time because they pass through major thoroughfares in Metro Manila. Other low-lying areas in Metro Manila, however, deserve as much attention.

In addition to constructing the necessary infrastructure for flood control, the agency has been working together with the Department of Interior and Local Government and the National Housing Authority to clear 19,000 informal settlers living near Metro Manila’s major waterways.

The government is on the right track in continuously working on flood control projects in Metro Manila and surrounding areas. After all, 20 million of the country’s 101 million total population live in the capital, and flooding that leads to traffic congestion adversely affects productivity and economic growth.

Flooding results in the disruption of the movement of people and goods every year. Government must therefore funnel more resources into flood mitigation projects especially in Metro Manila that serves as the country's political center as well as its financial and business hub.

Image by www.theatlantic.com