Pasig River rehab to save NCR residents from floods —DHSUD

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) said Monday that the mitigation of flood in Metro Manila is among the many benefits that the rehabilitation of Pasig River would give to Filipinos. 

In a public briefing, DHSUD Undersecretary Avelino Tolentino III explained that once the Pasig River is restored, more people will be encouraged to ensure the cleanliness of the river themselves. 

“Pagka patuloy na dumami ang gumagamit ng Pasig River, kapag patuloy tumataas ang kanyang stakeholders, ay patuloy na dumadami ang kakampi ng Pasig River. Ibig sabihin, hindi kailangan ang pamahalaan ang mismong nagbabanatay ng paglilinis ng Pasig River. Lahat ng stakeholders magkakaron ng level of awareness na panatilihing buhay ang Pasig River,” he said. 

(If more people are using the Pasig River, the river’s allies will increase. This means that not only the government will oversee the cleaning of the Pasig River. All stakeholders will have a level of awareness to make the river alive once more.) 

“Kapag ito ang nangyari, it will give NCR a level of climate resilience na hindi tayo basta babahain. In terms of climate resiliency, in terms of making sure that we are resilient… alam natin na madalas ang pagdating pag-ulan at bagyo sa ating bansa, eh magkakaron tayo ng river na maaasahan nating maisasalba tayo mula sa baha,” he added. 

(If this happens, it will give NCR a level of climate resilience that will make it flood-free. Typhoons usually come to the country, but we will now have a river that we can count on to save us from floods.) 

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Wednesday vowed that the rehabilitation of the Pasig River would be people-centered and community-driven, as he tasked the relocation of informal settlers along the riverbank. 

According to Marcos, the transformation that he would like to see in the Pasig River is ''not cosmetic in nature.''

''We do not want a river that is instantly made picturesque by coats of paint. We want a river whose transformation sinks to its very bottom,'' Marcos said. 

''This begins by cleaning up the river, and some solutions are found upstream because wastes disposed of far from the Pasig River end up in the Pasig River, funneled through waterways that have become sewers,'' he added. —LDF, GMA Integrated News